Explanations and Expectations
by audrey-chan
Summary: Here it is, parts 1,2,&3 up .. I'll put up the other two later. There isn't really a general summary of this .. so .. read! XD
1. Default Chapter

Title: Explanations and Expectations - Part 1  
Rating: PG-13  
Author's Note: This is the nice, full version. HAVE FUN! =o). P.S., I didn't do spell check, so don't correct me on the spelling errors.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I've got an idea," Cassidy said, smiling. "I'll go get everything we need for this new project ... and you go get lunch."  
  
"Lunch?" Butch pretended to look hurt. "Is that the only thing I'm good for?"  
  
"Of course not ... but I'm hungry."  
  
"Fine, fine," Butch rolled his eyes. "I'll be back in a bit."  
  
Cassidy followed his figure as he walked the hall. As soon as he reached the end, he turned the corner. Cassidy frowned for a bit, but he peeked back around and gave her a wave. She grinned and waved back, following their usual tradition. She turned around and sighed, looking up at the large closet in front of her. She quickly spun out the lock, and opened the door.  
  
"What a mess," She said, looking around at the many gadgets in the closet. Each Team Rocket team was assigned a closet to keep any necessary equipment. Butch and Cassidy's newest mission was to invade a smalll Pokemon school to steal the Pokemon that stayed there.  
  
"How thrilling," Cassidy had remarked sarcastically. "A new way to get ourselves stuck in jail."  
  
"We can do it this time, without those brats to ruin our plan," Butch had said, giving her a reassuring smile. Butch's smiles could convince her to do anything, and both of them knew it.  
  
"Maybe I should clean up a bit," Cassidy remarked to herself. Knowing Butch, he would wander into a different store and take awhile before he came back with their lunch. She began to sort through boxes and tiding up. Deciding to work on the top shelf first, she grabbed a bucket from a nearby corner and stood on it. She grabbed a box and climbed down.  
  
"What's in this?" She wondered out loud. She pulled out an old Pokemon Handbook from her childhood, and a few hair ribbons. Then she noticed a photograph in the corner and pulled it out to look at it.  
  
"Oh my god ..."  
  
The photograph fluttered to the floor as Cassidy's hands began to shake.  
  
"I can't believe it," She shook her head, her breath coming in shorter gasps. Trying to calm herself, she took a deep breath and picked up the photograph again.  
  
It was a picture of two smiling girls, not more than twelve, both in two piece swimsuits. One, a red head, was holding up a hose and spraying the other blond girl. Both girls were laughing histerically.  
  
Her entire body shaking, Cassidy dug into the box again to pull out another photograph of the same two girls, this time in a more formal picture taken at a photo booth. Both girls were smiling and hugging each other happily. It didn't take three seconds for Cassidy to recognize the two girls.  
  
"It's me," She said, running her fingers over the blond, and then running her fingers over the red head. "And Jessie."  
  
Still holding the photograph, she reached into the box again and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.  
  
"I can't believe I still have this," She laughed to herself, reading the words on the paper. "'You're invited to Jessie's 14th Birthday Party' ..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Jessie, I've got the greatest idea!" Cassidy grinned at her best friend. "How about you, me, Vicky, and Jennifer go bowling?"  
  
"Bowling?" Jessie's eyes glowed with excitement. "Could you arrange that?"  
  
"Of course!" Cassidy swung her arm around Jessie's shoulder as they walked down the hallway of their school.  
  
"You're the greatest!"  
  
"I know, I know," Cassidy said, and both of them burst out laughing.  
  
Cassidy was happy to help her friend. Times weren't great for Jessie ... her mother had died when Jessie was four, leaving her father a greving maniac, and an abusive alcoholic. He was often away from home, and when he wasn't, he was abusing Jessie one way or another. Jessie often had to work odd jobs, only buying food and other necessities with what she earned. Her few clothes came from Cassidy's older sister, who donated her clothes quite frequently.  
  
"Hey you guys," Their friend Vicky, a short girl with blonde, almost white hair ran up to them. "It's your birthday this weekend, right Jess?"  
  
"Yeah, and we're going bowling!" Jessie grinned happily.  
  
"That sounds great!" Vicky said. "I better get to math class ... there's a substitute today, and I don't want to be left out of all the sub bashing."  
  
"This is going to be great," Jessie said, then waved to Cassidy. "See you later!"  
  
***  
  
Jessie opened her eyes. It was Saturday, finally. She was fourteen.  
  
She got up and glanced in the mirror next to her shabby bed. Only one cut, a medium size, dark red gash on her left cheek. She could always lie and say she got it riding her bike. She only wished the previous night hadn't happened. Her father had ordered her to her room while she was looking up information for a school project in a few of her mother's old books.  
  
"I'll go in a minute," She had said, leafing through an encyclopedia.  
  
"You're going to your room now."  
  
"I've just got to find someth--"  
  
An empty beer bottle flew towards her, hitting a table and cracking. Bits of shattered glass flew through the air, with one of the pieces blowing across Jessie's cheek. She reached up a hand to delicately inspect the cut, then with a look of pure hatred towards her father, she ran into her room.  
  
She shook off the night as she dressed for her party, putting on a red spagetti strap with a small black skirt. She stepped out of her room, checking down the hall to make sure her father wasn't around.  
  
"It's my birthday, and he's gone," She rolled her eyes, then crept through the den. Picking up a broom, she attempted to clean the broken glass away. Satisfied, she put away the broom and stepped outside, grabbing her bicycle, heading towards the bowling alley.  
  
As soon as she stepped in, she was greeted by Jennifer and Vicky, who had obviously arrived with each other. It wasn't too long after she arrived that Cassidy flew in the door, shoving a cake at Jessie, panting.  
  
"I had to run all the way here," She explained. "I overslept, and my parents had already left for work ..."  
  
"At least you got here," Jessie said, smiling.  
  
"How about you go ahead and open the presents?" Vicky suggested. "That way we can bowl for the rest of the party, and ..."  
  
"She can talk to Andrew," Jennifer finished. Vicky blushed deep red and kicked Jennifer in the ankle, then looked back over her shoulder to make sure no one had heard.  
  
"Here," Vicky handed a small envelope over, still blushing and looking nervous. Jessie opened it to reveil a gift certificate to a local department store, and hugged her friend in thanks.  
  
"I hope you like that store," Jennifer laughed, handing Jessie another certificate.  
  
"This is wonderful ... thank you so much!" Jessie said, totally sincere.  
  
"Now," Cassidy grinned. "Don't worry, I don't have a gift certificate ..."  
  
She handed Jessie a small brown box, a card taped to the outside. Jessie opened it up, and read the care privately.  
  
Dear Jess,  
  
I know times haven't been the best for you, but maybe the next year will be great. After all, we've both got scholarships to go to Pokemon Tech! But I want you to remember that you'll always be my friend, no matter what.  
  
Friends forever,  
  
Cassidy  
  
Jessie bit her lip, then threw herself at Cassidy in a hug.  
  
"I'll always be your friend, Cass," She whispered.  
  
"Great," Cassidy said, then pulled away. "You still have to open your gift!"  
  
Jessie opened the box slowly, savoring the moment, then peeked inside. She lifted out a shiny new Pokeball.  
  
"Toss it!" Cassidy urged. Jessie, speechless with surprise, pulled her arm back and tossed the Pokeball onto the floor, as a Pokemon popped out.  
  
"Ekans!"  
  
"An Ekans?" Jessie gasped. Cassidy knew that they were her favorite Pokemon.  
  
"I found it abandoned, and thought you'd like it," Cassidy said.  
  
"Like it? I love it," Jessie said, looking at Cassidy, her eyes brimming with tears. The promising look formed a bond between the two girls.  
  
A bond that would never be broken.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Weeds  
  
Cassidy pulled a new item out of the box - a brochure for the Pokemon Technical Institute. She shuddered. This was where the nightmare began.  
  
It had been her fault. Or hadn't it? She couldn't help the thought circling her mind. Yearning to remember, she sat back, thinking about the year it had all happened ...  
  
***  
  
Jessie was spinning wildly, madly, out of control.  
  
Cassidy knew it very well. But she denied it. To her, Jessie could never change, she would always be her best friend, the most trustworthy, best person in the world.  
  
And when the announcement came on that Wednesday morning, Jessie didn't seem to really care. But it had shattered her, broken her in half.  
  
"Jessie, what'd they say?" Cassidy asked worridly when she returned to the dorm. She had been called to the office - which was almost always bad news.  
  
"Don't get worried, no big deal. My dad croaked, finally. He got shot," Jessie smiled, a crooked, nearly mad smile. "Got in an argument at a bar, and got shot. I knew it'd happen."  
  
"Jessie, I'm ... so sorry," Cassidy laid a hand on Jessie's sholder, but she pulled away, still smiling.  
  
"It doesn't matter! Don't you see, Cass? I'm free now, no parents, no one to hold me back! I can do whatever I want with my life, and have nothing to worry about," Jessie jumped onto her bed.  
  
Cassidy shook her head, unable to believe what Jessie was saying. She wasn't at all sad about her father's death? And she didn't feel anything about her mother's death anymore?  
  
"You want to go out tonight? I feel like celebrating," Jessie said, sitting up.  
  
"Sure, I guess. How about skating?"  
  
"Skating? You've got to be kidding."  
  
"Bowling?"  
  
"Cassidy, we're fifteen! Live on the edge a bit!"  
  
"Uh ... the pizza place?"  
  
"A little better," Jessie frowned. "I was thinking something like ... a club."  
  
"A club? Don't you have to be ..."  
  
"Eighteen? Only a minor setback," Jessie said, then smiled. "We can pass for being older. I'm tall, and you're mature ... well, except for your choices of hang outs ..."  
  
"What about ..."  
  
"Ids? Got that covered too. You have nothing to worry about, Cass, I've been planning and thinking and planning ahead."  
  
"I guess we could try ..."  
  
"Of course we can!" Jessie grabbed Cassidy's arm. "We have all day to go shopping for what we can wear tonight, so let's go!"  
  
Cassidy, although a bit skeptical, followed Jessie out the door. She was soon caught up in Jessie's excitement as they headed to get their bikes to go to a mall, what the girls joked as 'The Mall near the school that's in the middle of nowhere'. Of course, Pokemon Tech was always joked as being stuck in the middle of nowhere, but it didn't matter, since the school was of such high quality.  
  
"Hey Cass, look at that!" Jessie pointed towards the parking lot. "Looks like we've got a new student! And check it out ... in a limo!"  
  
A huge, black stretch limo was parked in the parking lot. The principal of the school was standing next to the limo, talking to the parents. A butler came around and opened the door, as a boy stepped out. Jessie reached over and grabbed Cassidy's arm excitedly.  
  
"A guy!" She giggled. "The new kid's a guy! And not bad looking, either!"  
  
The parents waved to the boy, who seemed less than happy about being at the school. The principal began to lead the boy towards the building when he spotted Jessie and Cassidy.  
  
"Girls!" He waved, as they ran towards him. "Jessie, Cassidy ... I'd like you to meet James."  
  
The boy looked up at them nervously, looking first at Jessie, then Cassidy ... then back at Jessie again.  
  
"Would you like to show him around this afternoon?" The principal asked. In otherwords - You're going to be showing him around this afternoon.  
  
"Right, come on James," Jessie grabbed him and started to run towards the bike rack. Cassidy shrugged and followed after.  
  
"So, where're you from?" Jessie asked, leaning against the bike rack casually.  
  
"Oh, not far from here," James said quietly, looking at the ground and hugging a few books to his chest.  
  
"Don't play all wimpy on me. I hate wimpy people. And I hate whiners. Don't you dare whine in front of me, or you'll get slapped. Ain't that right Cassidy?"  
  
"Yeah, Jess ..." Cassidy raised an eyebrow at Jessie's peculiar behavior.  
  
"Yeah. Cass here's my best friend. Don't whine with her either. Treat her as you'd treat me," Jessie nodded, then leaned back again.  
  
Of course, she leaned back too far, and fell over backwards, knocking half the bikes in the rack over. Cassidy smacked a hand to her mouth to hide her laughter. James looked as if he was trying to hold back his laughter too, as Jessie stood up and brushed off her uniform.  
  
"Is that laughter I see? Cassidy? James?" She pretended to be mad, but her face broke into a grin. "I meant to do that, seriously. It's all a part of being cool."  
  
"I see," James said, nodding his head.  
  
"So, you rich?"  
  
"I guess you could say that."  
  
"Lucky," Jessie rolled her eyes. "I was born poor, raised poor, and I still am poor."  
  
"It's really not that great," James muttered.  
  
"Whatever," Jessie rolled her eyes yet again. "Say, how about you join me and Cassidy tonight? We're going ... out."  
  
"I don't know ..."  
  
"Listen, you want to fit in? You better hang with us. We'll make you cool, won't we Cassidy?"  
  
"Right," Cassidy said, sighing. "Whatever you say, Jess."  
  
***  
  
"Alright, I managed to scrape one up for you, James ... you're now Robert Thatchman."  
  
"Robert Thatchman?"  
  
"Are you coming or not?"  
  
"I'm coming."  
  
"Thank you, Robert," Jessie nodded. "And I'm Crystal, and you, Cassidy, are Julie."  
  
"Julie?"  
  
"Julie Green," Jessie snickered. "Now, let's go."  
  
The three walked along the streets, with Jessie leading the way. Cassidy was still skeptical and a bit nervous about the club, but she figured that Jessie knew what she was doing, and wouldn't lead her anywhere she shouldn't be. They reached the door of the club, and Jessie casually flashed her Id to the guard. Cassidy bit her lip, but did the same and passed without question. James looked a little nervous, but the guard didn't seem to notice, or care, and let him in as well.  
  
"Good job you guys," Jessie said. "Just act natural, no questions asked."  
  
"Uh huh," Cassidy didn't pay much attention to Jessie as she looked around the club. Everyone there seemed so ... old. Cassidy hunkered down slightly, looking nervously around at the other people dancing, sitting and talking ... and drinking.  
  
"I'm thirsty, how about you guys?" Jessie asked nonchalantly. Cassidy couldn't believe that she wasn't at all nervous in the club.  
  
"No, I'm fine," Cassidy said. Even though she was thirsty, she didn't want to drink anything at the club.  
  
"I'll pass too," James said quietly. He looked about as nervous as Cassidy felt, and she was glad that he felt the same way.  
  
"Fine, whatever," Jessie said. "Are you two ever going to grow up? Maybe I have to show you an example."  
  
And with that, Jessie went up and ordered herself a drink. A *real* drink.  
  
"Jessie, I really wouldn't ..." Cassidy could help but stare at the beer in Jessie's hand.  
  
"Geez, Cass, this isn't boarding school. It's the weekend. I'm free now too. Might as well celebrate my father's death the way he died," She raised the bottle to Cassidy, then swung it back and took a long drink. James subconscieously scooted a little closer to Cassidy, and both shared nervous glances at each other. Suddenly, an idea hit Cassidy right in the head, and she pretended to stumble and hold herself up using James.  
  
"Oh my god, I just had this sudden dizzy spell," Cassidy said, raising a hand to her forehead. James nodded, indicating that he got what Cassidy was trying to do.  
  
"You do feel kind of warm, Cass ... maybe you should sit down for awhile. I'll sit with you."  
  
"Whatever?" Jessie rolled her eyes, then ran off into the crowd.  
  
At 2:15 in the morning, Cassidy and James finally left the club to go home. They managed to sneak back in without any trouble.  
  
But Jessie was left at the club.  
  
***  
  
"Jess? Jess, wake up ... it's 3:00 in the afternoon!" Cassidy shoved Jessie's dead mass of body over in her bed in an attempt to wake her up. Her face filled with disgust as a sudden wave of the nasty smell of alcohol flew right past her.  
  
"Geez, how much did she drink?" Cassidy asked herself, shoving Jessie again, this time with a little more force. Finally, Jessie opened her eyes, then closed them again and pulled a pillow over her face.  
  
"For god's sake, do you have to always turn on every single light in this room, Cassidy?"  
  
"Jessie, it's daytime. I don't even have any lights on."  
  
"Well turn off the sun then."  
  
"Jessie, you have to get up," Cassidy said, glancing nervously at the door. "People might start to wonder."  
  
"You don't have to shout!" Jessie pulled the pillow tighter over her head. "Oh my god ... I have the worst migrane ..."  
  
"It's more than a migrane," Cassidy laughed. "I think that club was a little too much fun."  
  
"What club?"  
  
"You know ... the club we went to last night?"  
  
"Oh. That club. When'd we leave?"  
  
"Well, James and I left about 2:15 in the morning ... and god knows when you left."  
  
"Stop shouting!"  
  
"I'm not shouting," Cassidy sighed, feeling like she was a frusterated mother, and Jessie was the stuborn child. Without thinking, she muttered three words outloud that she immediatley regretted.  
  
"God bless Myamato ..."  
  
"What about my mother?!" The pillow flew off and right into a lamp.  
  
"Nothing, Jess!"  
  
"Why'd you say that?!" Jessie sat up, then held up a fist like she was going to punch Cassidy.  
  
Then, with a groan, she sunk back down into her bed.  
  
"A little hungover?"  
  
Cassidy turned around to see James leaning against the door frame, a small wisp of his purple/blue hair hanging down over his face.  
  
"Shut up, wuss boy," Jessie hissed. "Why don't you and Cassidy just leave me alone? I'm fine ... and I'm not hungover!!!!"  
  
"You're hungover," Cassidy tossed Jessie's covers back over her head. "Sleep so you'll be more agreeable when you wake up."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"C'mon, James, I'll show you around the school," Cassidy said, taking James by the shoulder, and shutting the door.  
  
***  
  
It got worse.  
  
"Cassidy, you're my best friend, right?" Jessie asked one day as they were getting ready for school.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Then I can confide something in you, right? And you promise you won't tell anyone?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Okay then," Jessie took a deep breath. "I ... kind of ... like ... James."  
  
"Cute," Cassidy smiled. "It's kind of obvious."  
  
"Seriously?" Jessie raised an eyebrow. Cassidy laughed, and tossed Jessie her jacket.  
  
"We better go, or we'll be late."  
  
"Sure ... but Cassidy? I kind of promised ..."  
  
"Bianca. And you promised her you'd walk to school with her," Cassidy sighed. "I'm telling you Jess, that girl is bad news. Do you know all the stuff she does? Horrible."  
  
"Thank you mother," Jessie rolled her eyes. "I know what I'm doing."  
  
"That's what you think," Cassidy muttered under her breath. She knew that Jessie's friendship with the delinquent Bianca wasn't a good idea, after all, the girl did drugs. Cassidy had tried to talk sense into Jessie, but it wasn't working. She angrily slammed the door to her dorm room and began the walk to her homeroom.  
  
"Hey Cassidy!" Cassidy turned around to see James running towards her.  
  
"Hi James, are you waiting for anybody?"  
  
"No, actually ... I wanted to ask you something," James took a deep breath. "You know that dance we're having? Well, I wanted to ask ... Jessie if she'd go with me."  
  
"That's great!" Cassidy grinned. "I think that's a wonderful idea, and it'll do her good too."  
  
"I know what you mean," James said. "But do you think she'll go with me?"  
  
"I have a feeling she will. You want to eat lunch together today? I could use someone to talk to, and besides, Jessie seems like a great topic to discuss."  
  
"Sure," James smiled. "See you later!"  
  
***  
  
"I can't believe you didn't get a date for tonight!" Jessie said.  
  
"Yeah, well, at least you've got one."  
  
"I know ... James!"  
  
Cassidy and Jessie walked along the sidewalk towards the gym, where the dance was being held. Cassidy was glad for the time spent with Jessie preparing for the dance, and for a while, things were just like they used to be. Jessie spent her time experimenting with makeup on Cassidy, and then helping her choose a dress. She couldn't convince Cassidy to take down her pigtails for the dance, though, something she promised herself she would eventually do.  
  
"Jessie!" James ran up to her as soon as they walked in the door. "I was wondering when you'd get here!"  
  
"I spent my time trying to talk her into a new hairstyle," Jessie jabbed her thumb in Cassidy's direction, who held onto her pigtails nervously.  
  
"I like my hair," Cassidy said quietly, then smiled. "But I hear a slow dance coming on, already ... you two better get in there!"  
  
"A slow dance? Hurry up, James!" Jessie grabbed his hand and dragged him into the gym. Cassidy smiled after them, then turned around.  
  
And right into Bianca.  
  
"Hello, Cassidy," Bianca sneered.  
  
"Hello, Bianca," Cassidy said in the same tone of voice Bianca used.  
  
"I was wondering where Jessie is," Bianca said. "That is, if you'd lower youself to speak to me."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Don't play dumb with me, prep. Always walking around like you're better than everybody else. And then not even bothering to talk to anyone besides Jessie and that rich kid," Bianca laughed, then grabbed one of Cassidy's pigtails and gave it a tug.  
  
"What is your problem?!" Cassidy shoved her away. "And if you must ask, Jessie and 'that rich kid' are in the gym dancing right now."  
  
"Thanks, brat," Bianca said, then ran off into the gym. About five seconds later, a fast dance started playing, and Jessie and Bianca ran out.  
  
"See you later," Cassidy said to herself as the two ran outside the school.  
  
"I knew it wouldn't last too long," James said, walking towards Cassidy looking rejected.  
  
"She'll be back at some point," Cassidy rolled her eyes, then smiled at James.  
  
She couldn't help but notice how cute his own smile was.  
  
"Well, if she's not back by the next slow dance, you won't have anyone to dance with," Cassidy said, biting her lip, trying not to seem too obvious.  
  
"Yeah, you're right ..." Suddenly, James' face lit up. "Hey, would you like to dance with me for the next dance?"  
  
"Oh, I guess so," Cassidy said, trying to hold back her smile.  
  
And when the next slow dance came around, they danced together. And even though her heart told her it wasn't right, Cassidy scooted closer to James.  
  



	2. Part 1 Continued

"Jessie's out of control," She whispered into James' ear. "You shouldn't stay with her."  
  
"But I feel like I'm the only one she can turn to, other than you ..."  
  
"That's over now, James," Cassidy pulled back slightly. A moment went by, but too quick to let her actually think. She leaned forward to James, thinking only of one thing ...  
  
The kiss.  
  
Time couldn't pull them apart, until finally James pulled back, his eyes wide in surprise. Cassidy shook her head, trying to collect her thoughts about what happened, but she was suddenly grabbed by her shoulder and spun around angriliy.  
  
Jessie.  
  
"Cassidy, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Jessie screamed.  
  
"Jessie! I was ... I mean ..."  
  
"We'll settle this back at the dorms," Jessie said, grabbing Cassidy by one of pigtails and begining to drag her off towards the dorm room. Cassidy could feel herself getting angrier ... especially from the laughter coming in Bianca's direction.  
  
***  
  
"I can't believe you ... I can't believe you!" Jessie paced back and forth, barely able to control her anger, as Cassidy sat on her bed, her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"Well, Jessie, you weren't exactly treating him good tonight," Cassidy snapped. "Or myself for that matter."  
  
"Is that it? You just want me to cling on you all day and night? Cassidy, you're not my only friend! And I was coming back to James."  
  
"You were not. You were off doing who knows what with Bianca."  
  
"She's more exciting than you are, little miss 'Let's Go Bowling' brat!"  
  
"You can't just treat your friends like this!" Cassidy screamed. "You can't just use them when you need to, then throw them away!"  
  
"But you don't cheat on your friends and kiss the guy they like!"  
  
Something inside both of them suddenly snapped.  
  
"You're just jealous," Jessie sneered. "Jealous that I'm beautiful, that I have a guy ... and all you have are your little pigtails!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Well ... I'm glad I kissed James!"  
  
"You're WHAT?!" Jessie leaned over and slapped Cassidy square across the face. "You're like a little weed! A little, controling, bratty, vicious weed!"  
  
"Well at least I don't smoke it!"  
  
"Shut up!" Jessie slapped Cassidy again.  
  
"That's it," Cassidy turned right around and slapped Jessie back. Jessie gave her a cold look, then grabbed her jacket and walked towards the door.  
  
"From now on, we're no longer friends."  
  
"Fine with me," Cassidy said smugly.  
  
"Great. Goodbye."  
  
Jessie walked out, and slammed the door.  
  
***  
  
Jessie switched dorms, and Cassidy had a room to herself. The night before exams, she and James went out to a club all night.  
  
And the rest ... history.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Greed  
  
Cassidy shuddered at the memory, placing the brochure back into the box. It had been her fault, she knew. But there was nothing to do about it anymore.  
  
Shaking the thought out of her head, she reached into the box again and pulled out another picture, a picture of herself and Butch a few months after they joined Team Rocket. She grinned from ear to ear - a much happier memory than the one before. Her mind drifted back to that first day...  
  
***  
  
Cassidy was fresh out of Pokemon Tech, but her mind was set much differently than how it had been when she first enrolled. She was greedy; greedy for power, greedy for money ... and greedy for friendship.  
  
She had been merely taking a walk in a park, when she heard a whisper behind her.  
  
"Psst ... hey you ..."  
  
She turned around and looked into the bushes curiously.  
  
"Hey," A masked face appeared between the shrubbry, and smiled sinisterly. "Are you interested in joining Team Rocket?"  
  
Cassidy paused. She'd heard of this notorious gang often in her classes, and always wondered if they were really as bad as they were described.  
  
"Yeah, sure," She grinned, proud of her new attitude.  
  
"Great, follow me."  
  
***  
  
"Good work," The voice came from the shadows, as a Persian curled up in the corner, eyeing Cassidy suspiciously. "And you, girl ... what's your name?"  
  
"Cassidy."  
  
"And you're interested in joining our team?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Wonderful. And what perfect timing ... we have just the partner for you."  
  
A finger reached out from the shadows, and pressed a button on a small intercom sitting on his desk. Cassidy reached around and tugged on her pigtails like she always did when she was nervous.  
  
"Roxanne? Send in the new member."  
  
A few minutes later, a boy just Cassidy's age with teal colored hair and beautiful eyes stuck his head into the door.  
  
"You called, boss?"  
  
Cassidy jumped back a bit. What was wrong with his voice? He sounded like he had swallowed a frog ... but at least his looks made up for that.  
  
"Butch? You said you were looking for a partner?"  
  
"Yeah," The boy said, finally looking over at Cassidy. He paused a moment, then flashed her a friendly smile.  
  
"Very good," The shadows chuckled. "Butch, I would like you to meet Cassidy. You two will be partners now, until further notice."  
  
"Cool," Butch said casually, nodding at Cassidy. "C'mon, let's go."  
  
Cassidy followed him, letting the door shut behind her, and letting out a sigh she had been holding in for ages.  
  
"Talk about nerve racking, huh?" Butch grinned. "Don't be so nervous, everything will work out. They're always despirate for new members here. Oh, I'm sorry ... my name's Butch."  
  
"I'm Cassidy," Cassidy said quietly, then laughed. "Sorry, it's just that we sound like something out of an old western movie ... Butch and Cassidy. Butch Cassidy."  
  
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Butch laughed. "So, where're you from?"  
  
"Well, I just graduated from Pokemon Tech."  
  
"Pokemon Tech? Isn't that the really high quality school?"  
  
"I guess you could say that," Cassidy shrugged. "Anyway, I don't really have any Pokemon or anything ..."  
  
"Neither do I. They'll give them to us."  
  
"Good," Cassidy let out another sigh of relief. As she was walking behind Butch, she ran her hand through her hair, then straightened out her blue tank.  
  
"So, why'd you join Team Rocket?"  
  
"Just wanted to do something," Cassidy said. "I've always wanted fame, fortune ..."  
  
"Well I wish you the best of luck," Butch looked back and smiled again.  
  
An *adorable* smile.  
  
"All we have to do is fill out a few forms, pick out our uniforms, and then we're good to go," Butch said, opening a door, then holding it open as Cassidy walked through. "It doesn't sound too hard ... at least, I hope it won't be ... by the way, cute hair."  
  
"Oh, thanks," Cassidy tugged on her pigtails again. "People always told me that they looked stupid and babyish ... I don't know, I always liked them."  
  
"Babyish? I think they look cute on you," Butch flashed her another one of those knock-out smiles, and Cassidy felt her knees shake.  
  
"Butch? Cassidy?" The lady who sat behind the large desk lowered her eyeglasses to look at them. "A little young ... but you'll do. Here are the forms for you to fill out."  
  
Cassidy took the forms and filled them out quickly. Ironically, she and Butch finished at the exact same time.  
  
"Very good," The lady looked the over casually, then tossed them aside. "Here are your uniforms and your Pokeball ... go out and start stealing, have a nice day."  
  
"She sounds excited," Butch muttered, taking his uniform.  
  
"I'll be right back ... I want to try it on," Cassidy grinned, then rushed out the door.  
  
***  
  
"Are you ready?"  
  
"Ready."  
  
Cassidy stepped out in her new, black Team Rocket uniform. Butch looked at her with a grin, showing off his uniform that matched her own.  
  
"We match perfectly!" Cassidy said happily. "And such a great color too!"  
  
"Black?"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
"I guess you're right ... hey, what about this?" Butch held up a Pokeball, then tossed it on the floor.  
  
"Raticate!"  
  
"A Raticate?" Cassidy looked at the rat with disgust.  
  
"We'll train him good," Butch said. "You wait ... we'll be the best, highest ranked team there is."  
  
"They rank teams? Who's the highest ranked team right now?"  
  
"I don't know ... they're up on that wall though," Butch pointed to a bulletin board on the wall, where several long sheets of paper were pinned. Cassidy immediately ran over to look at the teams ... then gasped.  
  
"What is it?" Butch stood behind her, looking at the list.  
  
"Jessie and James," Cassidy read the names of the highest ranked team with sheer hatred.  
  
"You know them?"  
  
"Not anymore," Cassidy grumbled. "I should've known Jessie would lead James to joining Team Rocket ... at least she's perfect for the job."  
  
"So you're enemies?"  
  
"Bitter enemies," Cassidy corrected him. "And I wouldn't care if I never saw her face again for the rest of my life."  
  
"But with both of you in Team Rocket, that'll be pretty hard, don't you think? Maybe you should just ... resolve your argument?"  
  
"Resolve it? I didn't do anything wrong," Cassidy said in a huff.  
  
"Okay," Butch sighed. "How about we go get lunch, and plan what we're going to do?"  
  
"That sounds great," Cassidy smiled sincerely.  
  
"You know ..." Butch smiled at Cassidy. "I think I'm really going to enjoy having you as a partner ... you have the cutest smile ..."  
  
"Your's is adorable," Cassidy replied softly, fingering a lock of her hair. Butch laughed softly, then took her arm.  
  
"Let's go!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Pleads  
  
Her mind drifted again, to her last mission. What a misfotune.  
  
She couldn't believe what she had almost done the other night. Her hand began to shake again, the thought of the tiny revolver sitting in it. She bit her lip nervously, staring at the wall, the memories flooding her head ....  
  
***  
  
"Do you really think this place will have an Articuno?" Cassidy asked.  
  
"Well, if the boss is right ..." Butch sighed, as they both looked up at the Pokemon Center. "It's supposed to be a pretty offbeat center ... they might have all sorts of rare Pokemon."  
  
"Then we'll have to check it out," Cassidy said. "And maybe this time we won't get arrested ... again ..."  
  
"As long as Jessie and James don't ruin our plan."  
  
"Right," Cassidy rolled her eyes. "But you remember what Giovanni said ... if they show their face, we get to turn them in! They'll get fired for sure!"  
  
Cassidy burst out laughing, as Butch looked to the ground nervously.  
  
"Butch?" Cassidy stopped laughing. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Well, Giovanni ... he sort of changed his orders."  
  
"What is it?" Cassidy's face dropped.  
  
"He said that if Jessie and James ruin our plan, then we have to ..."  
  
Butch shook his head, then reached into his bag. Cassidy gasped as he pulled out a revolver, and placed it into her hands.  
  
"Orders are orders," She bit her lip, staring at the revolver.  
  
"Well, they're probably miles and miles away from here. Let's go hold this place up, and get us some rare Pokemon!" Butch grinned, then grabbed Cassidy's arm, dragging her to the Pokemon Center.  
  
***  
  
"We'll just find those twerps again ... we can beat them!" Jessie said detereminedly.  
  
"How could you beat them Your Arbok and Lickitung are beat," Meowth said, sighing. "They need a checkup, and fast."  
  
"So does Weezing," James added.  
  
"Alright ... a minor setback, but once we get them well, we'll beat the twerps!"  
  
"How are you supposed to do that? Did you forget that you're a member of a gang of theives? Like some Pokemon Center will welcome you with open arms!" Meowth laughed. His laughter stopped abruptly with a kick in the head.  
  
"Just let me think," Jessie said, then after a few moments of silence, grinned. "I've got it! There's a little rundown Pokemon Center not too far from here ... all we have to do is do a nice, clean holdup of the place, grab medicine, escape, treat out Pokemon, and we're home free!"  
  
"Sounds genious!" James said, grasping her hand happily.  
  
"Whatever yous two want to do," Meowth rolled his eyes. "Let's get going, then."  
  
***  
  
"I'm telling you, we have no Articuno!" Nurse Joy argued as Cassidy tied a rope around her tighter.  
  
"If you won't tell us, we'll have to find it ourselves," She laughed, as Butch pulled a gag around her mouth. "Let's search the halls and all the rooms; that bird's got to be here somewhere!"  
  
"I hope this all isn't for nothing," Butch said, then pulled out his revolver. Cassidy sighed and pulled out her own, just in case.  
  
"It won't be. Besides, with only Nurse Joy here, it'll take her forever to get out of those ropes, and once she does, we'll be long gone," Cassidy reassured her partner.  
  
"I guess you're right," Butch said. "Let's go then--"  
  
He was interrupted by a window shattering behind them.  
  
"What the ..." Cassidy whipped around, only to stare into a pair of icy blue eyes.  
  
"You!" Jessie sneered with disgust. "I should've known you'd be here, taking everything all for yourself."  
  
"And I knew you'd ruin our plan somehow, and get us arrested!"  
  
"Jail's where you belong!"  
  
"You belong someplace worse," Cassidy snapped.  
  
Then she remembered what she held in her hand.  
  
"Take one more step and I'll blow your head off," She threatened, pointing the revolver straight at Jessie. "I'm under strict orders to kill any two imbeciles who decide to interrupt our plan!"  
  
"Haha, that doesn't include me!" Meowth laughed, but stopped as Cassidy pointed the revolver at him.  
  
"Make that three imbeciles," She said angrily.  
  
"You wouldn't dare to kill me," Jessie snickered.  
  
"Wanna bet?" Cassidy grinned. "Butch, get me that rope."  
  
Butch didn't say anything, just handed her the rope, as Cassidy gave the revolver over to him.  
  
"I'll tie them up. You just shoot if they try anything."  
  
Jessie followed Cassidy with her eyes and she tied the rope around herself and James, taking care to tie it up as tight as she possibly could. She then picked up a furious Meowth by its tail and held him up in the air.  
  
"Little fleabag," She said with disgust.  
  
"Rat with pigtails!" Meowth snapped back, trying furiously to swipe at her. She laughed, then pulled out a Pokeball, to which Meowth replied with a gasp of surprise.  
  
"Been awhile, hasn't it Meowth?" Cassidy said, then opened the Pokeball up, capturing Meowth inside. "Looks like I've got a Meowth now."  
  
"You let him go!" Jessie screamed, but Cassidy merely dropped the Pokeball inside her bag.  
  
"Orders are order," Cassidy turned to Butch and shrugged. "Let's take them to one of the back rooms. We'll decide what to do from there."  
  
***  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Butch asked.  
  
"Of course. It's all a part of being a criminal," Cassidy smiled, then took hold of her revolver. "You go find the Articuno, and I'll take care of busines here."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Positive," Cassidy pushed him out the door, then shut it behind him. She turned with a grin to face her two captives.  
  
"Having fun, Cassidy?" Jessie spat, a look of pure hatred on her face.  
  
"Oh, lots of fun," Cassidy leaned back against the wall, fingering the gun carefully. "What a pretty instrument, don't you think? The last instrument I had was in sixth grade. That nice, shiny flute. You remember that flute?"  
  
"Yeah, you let a dog tear it up. You were stupid, even back then."  
  
"The dog took it from my hand," Cassidy glared at her, then looked back down at the gun. "I think this gun is much shinier than that old flute, don't you? Maybe you want to see it up close?"  
  
"That's okay, I'll pass."  
  
"You'll be seeing it soon enough," Cassidy smiled strangely. "I have complete and total control over you. Complete and total control."  
  
"How exciting."  
  
"Quit it with the sarcasm," Cassidy snapped. "I'm having enough trouble trying to figure out who to kill first, you or James ..."  
  
"You kill James? Over my dead body."  
  
"Thank you Jessie, that's exactly what I'll do," Cassidy said. "Or better yet, I'll kill him first at let you suffer for a while. How would you like that?"  
  
"Don't you dare."  
  
"Pure, sweet torture," Cassidy held the revolver, pointed at James. His jade eyes flashed pure terror, as his hand reached for Jessie's.  
  
"You're lucky I let you go that night, Cassidy. I could've easily killed you."  
  
"Yeah, right," Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Still bringing that incident up, are you? It was all your fault in the first place."  
  
"You were just jealous of me."  
  
"Jealous? I don't think so. You shouldn't have been mad anyway. It was all your fault."  
  
"It wasn't Jessie's fault," James spoke quietly. Cassidy spun around a pointed the gun at his head.  
  
"Did I ask for your opinion? I didn't think so. Stay our of arguments that don't concern you."  
  
"It does concern me," James spoke up again, this time more loudly. "We were at the dance, and Jessie was outside, and you and I were dancing, and ..."  
  
Cassidy squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out, but went wild and hit the wall, clunking dead to the floor.  
  
"I've got two more bullets left," She said, pointing the revolver back at Jessie. "Two bullets for two imbeciles. Perfect. Any last words, Jessie?"  
  
"I hope you rot in heck."  
  
"I'll be seeing you there," Cassidy smiled smugly. "How about you James? Anything you and Jessie would like to say to each other?"  
  
"Jessie, I ..."  
  
"James, let me tell you something. This little witch here is about to kill us, so I want to let you know something. Even though I've beaten up on you, yelled at you, even betrayed you ... I've always loved you. Not only as a friend, but as ..." Jessie paused.  
  
"I know, Jess. I feel the same way," James said quietly.  
  
"If I wasn't tied up, I'd kiss you," Jessie said, glaring up at Cassidy evily.  
  
"Don't look at me, I'm not about to untie you."  
  
"Anyway, James, I just want you to know that I'll always love you no matter what, and wherever we end up after this ... I pray we'll be together."  
  
"We will be, Jess," James squeezed her hand. "We'll always be together. Double trouble forever."  
  
"This is too sweet," Cassidy rolled her eyes and sneered. "Are you through yet?"  
  
"Yes, you cruel, uncaring, heartless little beast."  
  
"Wonderful." Cassidy pointed the revolver at James.  
  
"Goodbye, Jessica," James said quietly, slipping a rose into her hand.  
  
Cassidy squeezed the trigger.  
  
Unfortunately for her, though ... shot again went wild.  
  
"Darnit!" Cassidy cursed at the gun. "Now I only have one bullet left!"  
  
"Too bad," Jessie rolled her eyes, squeezing James' shaking hand again to let him know she was there.  
  
"I get to choose who I want to kill now," Cassidy said, whipping around.  
  
"I wonder who you'll choose."  
  
"Will it be Jessie?" Cassidy pointed the revolver at Jessie, then pointed it at James. "Or James?"  
  
"It'll be me, Cassidy. Just go ahead and say it," Jessie said, her face unreadable.  
  
"Maybe you're right."  
  
"I know I'm right. You hate me. All the years I was growing up, whenever something happened, I would always call you. You would have me over, and we would talk. You could always cheer me up."  
  
Cassidy lowered her revolver slightly.  
  
"You gave me Ekans. We went to school together. I could always trust you, even when I went through my wild stage, I still had full trust in you ... I guess it didn't seem that evidant at times, but I did."  
  
She lowered the revolver again.  
  
"But you betrayed me, Cassidy. Betrayed my trust, shattered my world. I couldn't believe it."  
  
Cassidy's hands began to shake, as the gun fell to the floor.  
  
"Of all the people in the world, Cassidy, I trusted you the most. And you betrayed me."  
  
"Would you just shut up!" Cassidy screamed, violently wiping the tears from her eyes.  
  
"I thought we would always be friends," Jessie glared at her. "But your jealousy ruined that. You could've told me, Cassidy. You could've talked to me."  
  
"I tried, I tried!" Cassidy screamed again, turning her back to them, resting her arms on the wall in front of her, and burying her face to hide the tears.  
  
"It's all coming back, isn't it? That revolver's right by your feet, Cassidy. Just pick it up, aim, and shoot. I'll be dead."  
  
"Just shut up!" Cassidy sobbed, marching over to them and untying the ropes.  
  
"I thought I could trust you," Jessie said coldly, still glaring at her.  
  
"Why won't you shut up?!" Cassidy threw the ropes to the ground and pointed to the door. "Look, just go! Now! I don't want to see your face again!"  
  
Cassidy threw herself against the wall again, her back heaving with her sobs. A tiny Pokeball dropped to the floor, containing Meowth, and Jessie picked it up carefully.  
  
"Come on, James," Jessie said, staring at Cassidy. "You heard her. Let's go."  
  



	3. Part 1 - Almost Done!

~*~*~*~*~  
  
Cassidy shook her head, picking up the first photograph she had seen again, of her and Jessie playing with a hose. She touched it longingly with her gloved hand, then placed it back in the box. She stood up and looked towards the door where a figure stood, watching her.  
  
Jessie.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Cassidy asked. "And how long have you been watching me?"  
  
"Just walked up here, wondered why your closet was open," Jessie shrugged. "James and Meowth went off to some buffet, and I have a feeling they won't be back for a few hours."  
  
"They probably found Butch there," Cassidy said, staring at the floor. Neither seemed to be living up to their usual tough disposition. Things were a little more uncomfortable, especially due to their last encounter.  
  
"Listen, Cass ..."  
  
Jessie paused, both she and Cassidy thinking the same thing. Jessie hadn't referred to Cassidy as 'Cass' in years. After a few moments of silence, Jessie sighed.  
  
"About the other night, I mean, I guess I just wanted to say ..."  
  
She stopped, and turned away.  
  
"Never mind. You'll just get mad."  
  
"You don't know that," Cassidy snapped, her voice not much louder than a whisper.  
  
"The old Cassidy wouldn't have. But this Cassidy, the new Cassidy will get mad."  
  
"And the old Jessie wouldn't hesitate to say anything at all to me."  
  
Both girls stared at the floor, not knowing what else to say. Finally, Jessie slowly walked over to Cassidy, an angry look on her face. She opened her mouth to say something hostile, but her eyes flew to the box. Cassidy's face turned bright red as Jessie reached in ... and pulled out the photograph.  
  
"Hey," Jessie said almost silently. "This is me ... and you ..."  
  
Her hand didn't shake, she didn't drop the photograph and freak out like Cassidy had ... she simply stared at it, her face completely unreadable. After several uncomfortable moments of silence, Jessie spoke again.  
  
"I remember that hose you had in your backyard," Jessie smiled slightly, still looking at the photograph. "We used to go out in our swimsuits and just play for hours ..."  
  
"Then after we got bored with that, we'd fill up balloons and go throwing them at our friend's houses," Cassidy said quietly.  
  
"We were delinquents, even back then," Jessie laughed, putting the photograph back in the box, and picking up the invitation.  
  
"Do you remember that party?" Cassidy smiled too.  
  
"Of course! That's where I got my Ekans," Jessie looked up at Cassidy. "You gave him to me ..."  
  
"You took care of him, just like you promised," Cassidy said. "And look at that snake. He was just a poor outcast before, and now he's evolved into a beautiful Arbok."  
  
"An outcast, just like me," Jessie said. "And you ..."  
  
At the same moment, both girls grasped each other in a tight hug, years of hatred and anger washing away with their tears. They embraced for a long time before Jessie pulled away, a huge smile on her face.  
  
"I can't believe this," Jessie said. "After all these years ... we're finally friends again."  
  
"It sure is great to have a friend back," Cassidy said. "I was so stupid ... our fight was all my fault ..."  
  
"It was my fault too. We both got mad for all the wrong reasons ... and stayed mad for a long time. We've been pretty evil to each other the past few years."  
  
"I should've talked to you ..."  
  
"I was out of control, Cassidy. What you did was wrong, but I was in the wrong too. I should never have treated you like that."  
  
"We really overreacted ..."  
  
"But I was getting pretty tired of that fight, weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah ... let's make things like they were when we were younger."  
  
Suddenly, Jessie's eyes lit up, and a cunning grin appeared on her face.  
  
"You know, Cass, there's a hose out back ..."  
  
"I've got my swimsuit ..."  
  
"Me too ..."  
  
"I'll meet you in five minutes."  
  
"Deal."  
  
***  
  
"Thanks for giving us a ride back," James said as he held the door open for Meowth.  
  
"Yeah, it beats walkin'!" Meowth said.  
  
"No problem ... but we better not tell Cassidy or Jessie about it ... they'd freak out," Butch said. "You know how they get about each other ..."  
  
"Yeah, they'd throw a fit," James shook his head.  
  
"Uhh, guys?" Meowth tugged on James' pants leg. "I think we're too late. They've already freaked out."  
  
James and Butch looked over to where Meowth was pointing. Both Jessie and Cassidy were shrieking with happiness, spraying each other with the hose, running around the backyard of the Team Rocket Headquarters in bikinis.  
  
"My God, they've both lost their minds!" Butch said, his eyes wide in surprise. The three ran towards the girls quickly.  
  
"Jessie?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"C'mon James, we can't work all the time ... why not have some fun?" She spotted Cassidy out of the corner of her eye and quickly sprayed her with the hose.  
  
"Having fun with ... Cassidy?"  
  
"Sure," Jessie shrugged.  
  
"But aren't you guys bitter enemies?" Butch asked.  
  
"We don't have to be if we don't want to be," Cassidy said, grasping Butch's arm.  
  
"And a girl has a right to change her mind," Jessie laughed. "You guys aren't enemies, why should we be?"  
  
"But I thought ..." James stopped and shook his head. "Never mind."  
  
"Well, if that's the case, then get on your swimsuits and come on out with us!" Jessie giggled, then sprayed an already annoyed Meowth. The poor cat screeched in horror, and ran off to hide under a tree. Jessie looked over at Cassidy, and both girls burst out laughing.  
  
"Too weird," James said, then laughed. "C'mon Butch, let's go."  
  
The two ran off to change, and Jessie sat down the hose, grinning at Cassidy.  
  
"Remember what we used to say all the time? Friends forever?"  
  
Cassidy threw her arms around Jessie and answered enthusiastically.  
  
"Friends forever!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  



	4. Part 2

Title: Explanations and Expectations - Part 2  
Rating: PG-13  
Author's Note: This part is worse than the first part! HA!  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Cassidy, please, if you've never listened to me before, listen to me now. Try something new."  
  
"No way!" Cassidy grasped onto her pigtails defensively.  
  
"You've had the same hair style since you were seven!"  
  
"Five."  
  
"All the more reason to try something new," Jessie said, gently taking the pigtails from Cassidy's hands and looking at them curiously. "Could you hand me those scissors?"  
  
"NO!!!!!"  
  
"Calm down, I'm not going to cut them!" Jessie rolled her eyes.  
  
"Why don't you cut *your* hair?"  
  
"Because I'm setting a fashion statement," Jessie said. "You're just dressing like a seven year old."  
  
"Five year old."  
  
"Whatever!" Jessie sighed. "If you'd just let me try something ..."  
  
"No way, Jessie, I know you and your experiments. I'll end up looking like something out of Rocky Horror Picture Show!"  
  
"At least it'll be better than looking like Sailor Moon."  
  
"I do not look like Sailor Moon!" Cassidy grabbed her hair back definantely. "I refuse to change my hair in any way, shape, or form."  
  
"Could you at least wear it down?" Jessie sighed, obviously aggrivated. Cassidy rolled her eyes, blaming herself for giving in.  
  
"Fine, fine. I'll wear it down. But you have to wear your hair down too ... with no hairspray!"  
  
"No hairspray?" Jessie looked shocked, then smiled. "I guess I can live one evening. And you can too."  
  
"Right," Cassidy said, taking down her pigtails carefully, then brushing her hair out.  
  
"See? You look great," Jessie swung her chair around to face a mirror. Cassidy seemed less than pleased, but then smiled slightly.  
  
"It'll do. For one evening."  
  
"Right," Jessie took the brush and brushed out her own hair. She paused, obviously discouraged by her looks, then grabbed the scissors and chopped off nearly two feet of her hair.  
  
"Jessie!" Cassidy looked at her strangely.  
  
"It's time for a change," She grinned. "You want to see my dress?"  
  
She didn't wait for an answer, but ran to her closet and pulled out her dress. It was a mint green dress, tiny flowers gracing the bottom, with thin spagetti straps.  
  
"Like it?"  
  
"It's beautiful!" Cassidy said. "And now, my dress."  
  
Cassidy ran over to the closet and pulled out her own dress, a pale pink spagetti strap, with butterflies decorating the front.  
  
"You actually picked out something nice," Jessie said matter-of-factly, smiling to let Cassidy know she was just kidding.  
  
"Oh, sure!" Cassidy rolled her eyes. "We should finish getting ready ... you realize we have ten minutes before the guys come?"  
  
Jessie's eyes flew to the clock, then she gasped and grabbed her dress.  
  
"Geez, we need to hurry!"  
  
***  
  
"I haven't eaten at a place this fancy in ages," Jessie said, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "Wait ... make that never."  
  
"Me neither," Cassidy admitted, taking her chances and slipping her arm into Butch's. He looked down at her, chuckling softly.  
  
"A little early, don't you think?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, a little too early in the evening."  
  
"It's never too early," Cassidy grinned.  
  
"See? Why can't we be like that," Jessie rolled her eyes, folding her arms and staring at James expectantly.  
  
"What?" James blushed, and Jessie's face softened.  
  
"They are cute, though, don't you think?" She asked, turning back to look at Butch and Cassidy.  
  
"Definitely," James smiled at her.  
  
"Not for long," Cassidy answered. "We still have a little mission we have to do ... find that stupid little school. How pointless."  
  
"But that can wait," Butch flashed her a smile, then deciding to take chances of his own, kissed the top of her head lightly.  
  
"You never kiss *me*!" Jessie kicked James in the leg under the table.  
  
"If he did, you two would probably be on the floor making out," Cassidy said, trying to hold back her laughter.  
  
"Not so!"  
  
"Besides," Cassidy shrugged. "We're cute together."  
  
"Pigtailed or not," Butch said, brushing his hand through Cassidy's hair. "Jessie finally convinced you to take those down?"  
  
"Yeah!" Jessie stuck out her tongue at Cassidy.  
  
"Whatever," Cassidy ignored Jessie. "So what mission are you guys on?"  
  
Jessie and James exchanged nervous glances, and Jessie bit her lip.  
  
"Well ... I think the boss gave up on us with the Pikachu case," Jessie said, looking at the table. "We haven't really gotted reassigned yet, so we were considering ..."  
  
"Quiting?"  
  
"Still finishing my sentences, just like you used to."  
  
"Seriously? You're seriously considering quiting?"  
  
"Well, haven't you considered it?" Jessie asked her sincerely. "I mean, really ... if I were you two, I'd certainly be tired of getting thrown into jail over and over again ..."  
  
"At least Officer Jenny knows us by name!" Butch smiled. "Or at least ... by number ..."  
  
"Shut up!" Cassidy laughed, nudging him slightly. "But yeah, Jess, I guess you're right ... I mean, I haven't ever really considered quiting, but ..."  
  
"Why don't you? I mean, haven't you wondered what life is like outside of Team Rocket?"  
  
"Boring."  
  
"Not any more boring than being thrown into jail repeatedly."  
  
"Right again," Cassidy sighed, then looked up at Butch. "What about you?"  
  
"I'll go with whatever you want to do."  
  
"But I don't know," Cassidy said, wishing she had her pigtails to tug like she always did when she was nervous.  
  
"It might be interesting," James put in.  
  
"You're right ... both of you are right ..."  
  
"But really Cassidy, what have you got to lose? Besides your jail numbers, of course ..."  
  
"She's right again," Butch quickly replied before Cassidy could open her mouth.  
  
"Well ... alright. It's time for a career change. That is," Cassidy looked up at Butch. "If you're coming with me ... I could never leave without you ..."  
  
"Of course I'd come with you!"  
  
"There's only one problem we can think of," Jessie sighed. "Meowth."  
  
"Meowth? What about him?"  
  
"Well ..." Jessie looked at James expectantly.  
  
"He's a friend, and we can't very well just leave him," James said.  
  
"Then take him with you," Cassidy said. "If that's the only problem ..."  
  
"But he wants to stay with Team Rocket. He wants to be the top cat."  
  
"Then give him a choice, big deal," Cassidy snuggled closer to Butch and sighed, content.  
  
"Should we talk to Meowth tomorrow?" Jessie asked James, subconsciously scooting an inch or two closer to him.  
  
"Yeah," James smiled.  
  
"But for now, let's just relax," Jessie said, looking at him seductively, then kissing him softly.  
  
"Whoa," Cassidy snickered. "Maybe we better leave, Butch ..."  
  
"Yeah, we might end up on the floor making out," Jessie said sarcastically.  
  
"At least you're making some progress," Cassidy said. Jessie kicked her underneath the table.  
  
"Tomorrow, Meowth," She said looking up at James. "But that's tomorrow ..."  
  
***  
  
"You mean to tell me that all of yous want to quit the team?" Meowth said, his high pitched voice in an annoyed tone as he looked at the four Rocket members in front of him.  
  
"Well, yes Meowth, that's what we've been thinking about," Jessie said nervously.  
  
"Did yous think of what Meowth wants?"  
  
"Yes ..."  
  
"I wanna be top cat," Meowth said, his eyes narrowing. "And yous expect me to just quit with you?"  
  
"Meowth, you know we're you friends," James began, but Jessie placed a warning hand over his mouth.  
  
"I've always just wanted one thing ..." Meowth looked to the ground. "To be top cat ..."  
  
He paused, his eyes fixiated on the ground. Jessie slipped her hand into James', and they both gave each other an encouraging nod.  
  
"I used to be top cat," Meowth began, then laughed, as if it were an absurd idea. "Yeah, I was the favorite. Until that Persian came along. Then it was out with the old cat, and in with the new. And I was stuck with the highest ranked team of the time, which was yous two. I wasn't too happy, but I eventually got used to you. And you know ... I may seem mad or ungrateful at time, but really, yous two are the only two friends I have. If I stayed in Team Rocket, I would just get shuffled around from team to team for the rest of my life. If I go with you, I can live in pleasure with my best friends for the rest of my life, and my eight other ones ..."  
  
He looked up, then smirked.  
  
"What've got to lose?" He shrugged. "Count me in."  
  
A look of relief washed over everyone's faces, as Jessie and James bent down to give their old friend a hug and a scratch behind the ears.  
  
"Just don't get all huggy kissy on me!" Meowth pushed them away and folded his arms, though he couldn't help but grin.  
  
"Now that you've convinced Meowth, we can go talk to Giovanni," Cassidy said confidently.  
  
"Right," Jessie said with an air of arrogance in her voice. "Come on James, don't wimp out on me now!"  
  
"But Jessie, what if this doesn't work?"  
  
"Stop whining! If there's one thing I hate, it's whiners!"  
  
"Shall we lead the way?" Butch laughed at the other duo, then held out his hand to Cassidy.  
  
"I believe so," Cassidy placed a delicate hand in Butch's, and the two began the walk towards the headquarters. Jessie soon followed, a fan in one hand and James in the other, followed by a confident Meowth, all ready for a change in their life.  
  
Something they would, one way or another, most certainly get.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Cassidy you do it ... he likes you ..."  
  
"Me? No way, he's hated me since the breeding center scandal ..."  
  
"Wasn't it a secret?"  
  
"It was a scandal, James, any fool could realize that."  
  
"'Cept James, you mean ..."  
  
Butch, Cassidy, James, Jessie, and Meowth all waited for their appointment with Giovanni outside the huge office, a large red 'R' gleaming on the wall behind them. Jessie paced back and forth, more out of anxiety than nervousness. James, terrified, sat in a chair biting his lip. Cassidy stood next to Butch, tugging her pigtails so hard she thought she'd pull them out. Meowth was the only calm one, quietly sipping a cup of water and looking generally bored.  
  
"I guess I could do it ..." Cassidy took a deep breath.  
  
"I think you'd do the best out of all of us," Butch said, giving her a reassuring hug and a kiss on her neck.  
  
"I'll certainly try ... you'll all have to back me up ..."  
  
"Sure, fine," Jessie said, obviously distracted with her own thoughts.  
  
"Just so long as I don't do the talkin', I'll go with any plan," Meowth said, finishing his water and tossing the cup into a nearby trash can.  
  
"Stand up, James," Jessie ordered sharply. Her face suddenly softened, and she came over and wrapped her hands around his neck.  
  
"We can do this," She said quietly. "Together."  
  
"Ladies? Gentlemen? ...And cat?"  
  
The five Rocket members looked up into the face of the secretary, a clipboard in her hand and a pencil over her ear.  
  
"The boss will see you now," She said, motioning towards the large, looming doors. All five held their breath as Cassidy stepped forward and opened the door.  
  
Not a shed of light emerged from inside the door. Only one light shined, a tiny desk lamp, slightly illuminating a chair where a man sat, his hand softly stroking the head of a sleek Persian. Meowth clenched his fists, but a gentle tap from James reminded them they weren't there to fight, but to reason.  
  
"S-sir?" Cassidy's voice wavered slightly, and sounded more like a squeak than her normal voice.  
  
"Cassidy, dear, what brings you here?" His voice was syrupy sweet, as mysterious as his face.  
  
"W-well, I'm not the only one here," She scooted over slightly. The half face that shown from the light frowned.  
  
"Jessie and James? You two idiots come crawling back again? And you, Meowth ... how dare you show your face in this room," He smirked. "Besides, I thought you swore you wouldn't set foot in this room again unless you were top cat ..."  
  
"It's all different now," Meowth said coldly.  
  
"Yes, yes," He said. "Anyway, Cassidy, my dear, what brings yourself and your partner here? I'm glad to see you didn't get stuck in an awful jail cell ... but didn't I already reassign you to a new mission?"  
  
"Well ..." Cassidy gulped. "You see, us five, we came here to ask you ... well ... we wanted to ask you, or rather, tell you that we've decided to quit Team Rocket."  
  
Giovanni jumped back slightly, his jaw dropped. The Persian hissed, more upset that his petting was being neglected, and spat at the group.  
  
"You do realize, of course," Giovanni said after some time. "No one has ever *quit* Team Rocket before. No one's even tried ... except for one member ... but we solved that matter ..."  
  
"Who?" Jessie asked without hesitation. Giovanni seemed to chuckle to himself, a grin appearing on his face.  
  
"My dear mother worked with her for quite a long time. Yes, but this particular member wanted to spend more 'family time' ... Madame Boss was furious, so she decided to send her on her last mission ... one of you knows her quite well ..."  
  
Jessie's eyes grew wide, and her face stern.  
  
"Yes, Jessica ... it was Miyamato ... your mother ..."  
  
"You can't just kill people like that!" Jessie screamed. "It was Madame Boss ... if she hadn't sent my mother on that mission, she'd still be alive today ..."  
  
Struggling to hold back tears, she stepped back, holding onto James. He held her shaking hand as Cassidy stepped forward again.  
  
"But sir ... wouldn't you rather have several new members who were willing to work rather than five old members who don't enjoy what they're doing, so therefore, they don't do a good job?"  
  
"Hmmm ... no."  
  
"Sir ..." Cassidy lowered her eyes and smirked. "Let's face it. Butch and I have been thrown in jail more times than I can count, and Jessie, James, and Meowth have spent over a year chasing after a ten year old with a rat. We're not exactly the most ... reliable members."  
  
"Yes, my Cassidy, that's true, but you have something other members don't have ..." Giovanni stood, walking slowly towards the group, still remaining hidden in the shadows. "You have a spunk, a certain attitude towards your work. You're not quiters."  
  
"But, sir, we will be! We don't enjoy what we're doing anymore ..."  
  
"You also have something else. Experience."  
  
"But sir ..."  
  
"But sir nothing," Giovanni held up a hand. "The subject is closed. You're staying with Team Rocket."  
  
"Ha, that's what you think ... c'mon boys and girls, we're breaking out of this hell," Jessie grabbed James by the shoulder and stormed out of the room.  
  
"Try to quit ... I ensure you, you won't suceed ..."  
  
He watched them go, his face unreadable. He slowly walked up to his desk, and picked up the phone.  
  
"Sercurity? Yes, check for all Ids at every door. If you find a Butch, Cassidy, Jessie, or James, you are under orders to eliminate them ... and yes, if you find a lone Meowth, get rid of him as well," He smiled. "It's one less rodent in this world ... what? A cat's not a rodent? Hmm," He hung up the phone. "I guess you learn something new every day."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"We'll just leave," Jessie fumed, storming down the hall. "If we go and don't come back, they'll never find us."  
  
"You don't think?" Meowth asked, struggling to keep up with the humans.  
  
"Of course not."  
  
"There's the back door, just up ahead," James said. "If we can sneak out there without being noticed, we're practically free."  
  
"That shouldn't be too hard," Cassidy said simply, as they approached door.  
  
"Freeze!"  
  
Six black uniformed Rocket members jumped in front of them, holding up weapons.  
  
"We have been ordered to check all Ids," One said.  
  
"Well I left mine in the jeep," Jessie lied without hesitation.  
  
"Then I'm under orders to kill you."  
  
Jessie groaned and handed over her Id.  
  
"Jessie?" The member looked up.  
  
"Yeah, that's my name."  
  
"I'm under orders to kill you."  
  
"Well isn't that just peachy," Jessie hissed, pushing the Rocket past her and taking a step towards the door. The members lunged and grabbed her, pulling her arms behind her back and tying her hands together.  
  
"Here kitty ..." One grabbed Meowth by his tail and placed him in a cage, locking the door.  
  
A member grabbed Butch, pulling his arms behind his back.  
  
"Cassidy, run!" He shouted. "I'll meet up with you later."  
  
Cassidy bit her lip, but followed the urgency in his voice and shot off down the hall.  
  
"You, go get that girl," The first member pointed at two other Rockets, who followed Cassidy. A remaining Rocket grabbed James, but luckily he twisted out of the Rocket's grasp.  
  
"James, go on, I'll find you later ... me and Butch will come out. Just keep up with Cassidy!"  
  
James nodded, then ran off down the hall, leaving only a single rose in his place.  
  
***  
  
"She went that way ..."  
  
The Rocket members took off towards the east, the leaves crunching underneath their feet. After what seemed like an eternity, Cassidy peeked out from behind the tree where she was hiding.  
  
"They're gone," She reassured herself, then looked around at her surroundings. "Where the heck am I? I didn't know there were any woods around here ..."  
  
She shrugged, then started walking in what she thought was the direction she came from, finding nothing around her but woods and more woods. She couldn't help but notice the bud of hunger growing in her stomach. A tiny Rattata scurried past her feet, happily chasing a friend in the woods.  
  
"I wonder where the Headquarters is from here ..."  
  
She stopped abruptly. Where was Butch? Back at the Headquarters with the others, but what were they doing with him?  
  
***  
  
"The cat? .... Yes, do bring him in."  
  
The cage was slapped down upon the desk, and Giovanni gently opened the door. The creature inside opened its eyes, shook his head, and yawned.  
  
"What?" He looked around, then walked out. "Where's Jess an' James?"  
  
"Never mind them," Giovanni smiled. "Persian isn't here either."  
  
Meowth looked at him curiously.  
  
"You see, Meowth ... you're a very lucky cat. I'm giving you a wonderful oppurtunity," He smiled. "You could be my top cat again."  
  
"Top cat?" Meowth said the words with curiousity, his eyes begining to sparkle with temptation.  
  
"Yes ... if you could turn your friends in, testify against them ... you see, we have to have what we like to call a little 'court' to decide what to do with them, and we need someone to testify against them. And that someone is ..." Giovanni gently pressed his finger on Meowth's charm. "You."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"That's right. Just tell your story as it is, against those two numbskulls ..."  
  



	5. Part 2 Continued

Meowth sat back, a look of disbelief on his face. He had the oppurtunity he had dreamed of for years - to be the top cat.  
  
Of course, then again, he still had friends he'd had for years, too.  
  
But still, the temptation chewed at his mind; would he do it? His mind drifted back slightly, to when he went to Hollywood, and found Meowsie. The Persian had ganged up on him ...  
  
But Jessie and James saved him.  
  
And then, on the island, where he had tried so despiritely to learn Pay Day attack, and who had thrown the coins to help him?  
  
Jessie and James.  
  
And yet ... what had being top cat ever gotten him? When was the last time Giovanni did something that was kind to Meowth?  
  
An easy answer. When he handed Meowth over to Jessie and James.  
  
"I think I'll pass," Meowth smirked.  
  
"What?!" Giovanni snapped. "But you've always wanted ..."  
  
"Not anymore," Meowth shrugged.  
  
"Oh really, well, we'll see about that," Giovanni grumbled, grabbing Meowth by the scruff of his neck and throwing him back in the cage violently. "Roxanne? Take this hairball away."  
  
***  
  
"Cassidy, Cassidy ... where could she be?" James studied the woods around him, knowing that Cassidy had run off in that direction. He stopped to listen, straining to hear any sign of life ... and heard a faint sobbing to his right.  
  
He took of in that direction, travelling not very far to find Cassidy, sitting on a large rock, face buried in her hands, crying.  
  
"Cassidy ..." He rushed over. "Don't cry, Cass ..."  
  
"How can I not cry?" She sobbed. "They've got Butch, and Jessie ..."  
  
"If there's one thing I've learned about Jessie, it's that she can survive through anything," James smiled. "And if she's there, then you can be sure Butch will be alright too."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
"Sure," James helped her up. "But just in case, we might as well go back to help them out ..."  
  
"But which way do we go?" Cassidy asked. "Just look around you. All woods."  
  
"You're right ..."  
  
"At least we're not seperated anymore," Cassidy said sincerely. "Let's try going one way, and figure out where we are from there ... or something like that."  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me."  
  
***  
  
Jessie shivered. The room was frigid, and with nothing on but her bare midriff and short skirt, she was freezing. She longed for James' jacket to wrap around her ...  
  
"If you were cold, you could've just said something," Butch grinned, taking off his own jacket and draping it over Jessie's shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, well ..."  
  
Jessie pulled her knees up to her chest, then glanced around the room. The only object was a single, dim lightbulb above their head, shining little light into the tiny room. A single door laid in the corner, though she knew on the other side there were too many locks to even try to break through.  
  
"Think they'll come?" Butch asked quietly.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Cass and James."  
  
"Yeah, they will," Jessie smiled slightly, then sighed. "But what's going to happen to us before then?"  
  
"Well ..." Butch shifted uncomfortably. "To be quite honest, they really just want to get rid of us."  
  
"Yeah. I know."  
  
Jessie pulled Butch's jacket around her tighter and bit her lip nervously.  
  
"Just to shoot the breeze a bit ... what happened to you and Cass that made you hate each other so much?"  
  
"Oh," Jessie laughed nervously. "Just a little jealousy ... Cassidy was angry, I was wild, and things just sort of blew up ... I had a friend named Bianca, and she had me doing some bad things ..."  
  
She paused, looking at the wall, debating whether to tell any more.  
  
"Go on. We have plenty of time."  
  
"Well ... James and I were at the dance together ... and ... I went off for awhle ... James and Cass danced ... and ..."  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"That was years ago. It's all over now."  
  
"Okay," Butch said, knowing Jessie didn't want to talk about it anymore. Jessie looked to the ground sadly.  
  
"James ..." She said quietly to herself, longing for him to take her in his arms, to comfort her like he always did when he was sad ...  
  
"You miss him?"  
  
She jerked up, and Butch smiled at her sincerely.  
  
"You must really like him a lot," Butch said. "As much as I like Cassidy."  
  
"Yeah," Jessie said in a whisper. "It's funny ... I just feel like he doesn't know that I like him ... sometimes I just let my temper get the better of me ... I just want him to like me too ..."  
  
"What does he do that makes you think that?"  
  
"I don't know ... it's me, really. He's so sweet, and I'm just so mean to him ..."  
  
"But don't you think that if he liked you, he would like you whether you were angry or not?"  
  
"Yeah ..."  
  
"Love's unconditional."  
  
"I guess you're right," Jessie laughed. "I feel like I'm talking to a psychiatrist."  
  
"Guess I should've been one, huh?" Butch grinned, then looked up behind Jessie.  
  
His smile disappeared.  
  
***  
  
"C'mon ..."  
  
Meowth pawed at the lock ferociously, hoping he would pop it open. But to no avail. He heard footsteps from down the hall faintly, but continued to paw at the lock. The door opened, and a girl with long lilac hair looked in.  
  
"Oh, le petite chat," She smiled, running over to Meowth's cage and gently grasping his paw in her hand. "Wonderful idea, but I do not believe it will work."  
  
Meowth looked at her funny.  
  
"You look at me like I was dement, oui?" She laughed. "Francais, chat, Francais."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
The girl jumped back, her eyes wide in surprise.  
  
"Petite chat, vous pouvez parler anglais!" She said suddenly. "Little cat, you can speak English!"  
  
"Yeah, but what the heck are you speaking?"  
  
"Oh, yes, Francais, French!" She smiled. "How did you learn to speak English?"  
  
"I taught myself!" Meowth said proudly.  
  
"Tres bien! Very good!" The girl laughed and clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, pardon moi for being so rude ... Je m'appelle Allison, or as you would say, my name is Allison. I was born in France."  
  
"How'd you end up here?"  
  
"Ah, I moved," She smiled. "I'm not very good with English, though."  
  
"Well, I'm good," Meowth said.  
  
"I can see that! Well, little cat, if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here?"  
  
"Got caught," Meowth said sadly. "I've been seperated from my friends, and I don't know where they are ... I was asked to testify against them, but I refused, so I was stuck in this room by myself ..."  
  
"I was sent down here to check on you," Allison said. "Are you hungry?"  
  
Meowth nodded with eager eyes, as Allison pulled a few bits of cold roast beef from her pockets. She set them inside the cage, and Meowth set at them hungrily.  
  
"My, you were hungry! When was the last time you ate?"  
  
"Mmm," Meowth swallowed. "About two days ago, I think ..."  
  
"Oh, pauvre chat! Poor cat!" Allison paused, and looked thoughtful. "I wonder if perhaps the Boss would let me take care of you ..."  
  
Meowth shook his head.  
  
"I can't stay with anyone but Jessie and James. They're the only friends I've ever had, and I have to find them."  
  
"You really do care about them ..."  
  
Allison checked around her, then bent over to whisper to Meowth.  
  
"I will help you escape, and then we will find your friends. We will all escape, and find refuge somewhere else ..."  
  
"Could you do that?"  
  
"Of course. I'm Allison, therefore, I can do anything," She grinned.  
  
"Well, there's Butch and Cassidy ..."  
  
"Are they friends? We'll find them too. We can do this."  
  
She looked around herself again, then took a key from a pocket in her long cloak. Meowth took a moment to study her uniform, which was vastly different from anyone else's ... it was a beautiful white uniform, a long cloak flowing out and around it. Her long lilac hair hung down loosely, with a few waves splashing over her shoulders.  
  
"Voila!" She snapped the lock off, then picked up Meowth in her arms. "Au revoir, goodbye little cage ... you're with me now."  
  
She held Meowth in her arms in such a way that he barely poked out, and was hardly noticible. She opened the door, and checked the hallway. All was clear. She shot down the hall, and into another room by herself.  
  
"We will get your friends tonight, Meowth."  
  
"But ... James and Cassidy weren't caught ..."  
  
"Do not worry, we will find them somewhere," Allison switched on a light, reveiling a small living quarters, with a bed and a tiny tv. Allison set Meowth on the bed, and pulled a cover over him, making sure to place a pillow beneath his head.  
  
"You sleep for now, petite chat, for we will be doing much tonight."  
  
Allison stroked Meowth, and began to sing a beautiful lullaby in French, gently soothing him to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"James ... I'm so tired ..."  
  
"I know, Cass, me too, but we've got to keep going."  
  
It was early in the evening, as Cassidy and James continued to travel through the woods, both cold, starving, dirty, and exhausted. They hadn't stopped all day, both with their minds set on finding the headquarters.  
  
"I'll tell you what, Butch better be pretty thankful ..."  
  
"Yeah," James laughed slightly. "Knowing Jess, though, she'll find something wrong with what I did, and she'll hit me with that mallet ..."  
  
"What?" Cassidy raised an eyebrow.  
  
"She always does that ... I don't know why ... I think she must hate me now, or something."  
  
"Hate you?" Cassidy nearly burst out laughing. "The girl is *mad* about you!"  
  
James didn't say anything, just looked at her curiously.  
  
"She's crazy, obsessed, head over heels in love with you!"  
  
"With ... me?"  
  
"Yes! With you!" Cassidy rolled her eyes. "It's so totally obvious ... Butch and I were talking just the other day about how distracting it is ... I just want to stick you two in the middle of a romantic, candlelit dinner, then *make* you kiss just so there wouldn't be anymore suspension! Honestly!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes!" Cassidy sighed. "I don't understand why you two don't just talk to each other ... I mean, Butch and I have talked to each other a lot about this stuff ..."  
  
She stopped walking for a moment, her face clouded with saddness. The topic had distracted her for a few minutes, but the depression just set back in.  
  
"We've got to keep going if we want to find them," James reminded her, and she nodded her head in agreement. The continued the walk in silence for a few minutes, when suddenly Cassidy stopped walking again, this time with a look of surprise.  
  
"L-l-look, James!" She pointed ahead. James turned around, then gasped ...  
  
"We made it!" Cassidy said excitedly, barely able to contain her excitement. "Now we can save them!"  
  
"You're right," James grinned at her, then grabbed her arm. "C'mon, we haven't got a moment to lose ... we've got to find them!"  
  
The two raced towards the building, then slowed down as they neared the back, taking care to hide in the shadows. Their time as criminals was finally paying off.  
  
"We've got to be silent," Cassidy said as they snuck towards the back door. "I know where some of the back rooms are ... I went exploring one day, and found out a lot more than they let the regular members know."  
  
"Then you lead the way."  
  
Cassidy opened the door slowly, then, making sure the coast was clear, snuck in, James right behind her. She paused in the doorway and slipped off her boots, which were torn up from the long walk in the woods anyway, and threw them outside. James did the same, not knowing why, and gave her a questioning glance.  
  
"If we're barefoot, we won't make a sound," She explained in a whisper, then motioned for him to follow her again.  
  
They continued down the hall, checking in each room. It was late, so nearly everyone had retired for the night into their tiny living quarters, to the relief of the two. They were just going around the corner when they stopped dead in their tracks.  
  
"James, there's someone ..." Cassidy said nervously, looking ahead of her. A girl was stepping out of her room, looking around carefully, then catching Cassidy's eye and retreating.  
  
"Who was that ...?"  
  
Her question wasn't answered, but the door cracked open again, and a small feline head poked out, then grinned.  
  
"It's Meowth!" James said, and the two set off down the hall quickly. As they reached the door, James knelt down, and the happy cat jumped into his arms, purring.  
  
"Now all we need is Jessie," Meowth grinned. "And I found someone to help us ... James, Cassidy, meet Allison."  
  
"Enchante de faire votre connaissance," Allison said quickly in French, then blushed. "I am sorry, just the excitement reminds me of my beautiful country ... I'm very glad to meet you."  
  
"Great, we can use more help," Cassidy flashed her a friendly smile. "Plus, a French girl could come in handy ..."  
  
"Do you know where they are?" James asked Meowth, who shook his head sadly.  
  
"I've been locked in a cage for a long time, until Allison found me ..."  
  
"Then let's keep going, we don't have much time," Cassidy insisted, already making off down the hall, continuing to check each room. They reached the back of the building, or so they thought ... but Cassidy revieled another door, cleverly hidden behind a bookshelf.  
  
"Not many know about this," She said, pushing the door open. A sudden blast of cold air hit them in the face, and the whole group shivered, as Allison collected Meowth into her arms, hoping to keep him slightly warm.  
  
They walked down the hall a little more slowly, taking care into checking each room carefully, looking for Butch and Jessie. Finally, as Allison glanced in a window of a room, she held up Meowth to look inside.  
  
"Guys! It's them!"  
  
Cassidy and James rushed over to look in the window, though they couldn't see much ...  
  
"C'mon," Cassidy pushed against the door hard to open it, but then sneered. "Darn it, it's locked!"  
  
"Do not worry, madmoiselle, for they gave me keys for every room you could think of," Allison grinned, taking out a set of keys, then leafing through them casually. She held up a key after a few moments, then fit into the lock and turned the doorknob ...  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"Butch!"  
  
Both Cassidy and James cried stimutaniously as they ran in the door, each going to their partner.  
  
"Jessie, Jessie ... what did they do to you?" James held up her chin in his hand and looked into her sad eyes. Her entire body was covered in cuts and bruises, her uniform tattered completely, as was Butch's.  
  
"Oh my god, I can't believe this ..." Cassidy threw herself at Butch, glancing up at the chains that held his wrists, keeping him attached to the wall.  
  
"If I had free arms, I'd hug you," He smiled slightly despite his pain. "Jessie's in worse shape than I am though ... something's wrong ..."  
  
"Jessie, Jessie, Jessie ... speak to me ..."  
  
"James ... I ..." Jessie's eyes flooded with tears. "They came, and they ... beat us ..."  
  
Her breathing came in short gasps, her face flooded with pain.  
  
"My god, Jessie, you're lucky you're still conscious!"  
  
"I ... wasn't ... before ... I just ... wanted you ..."  
  
James took her head in his hands, though the usual flame that was in her eyes had burned out.  
  
"It's so cold in here ... how could they do this to you?!" Cassidy said, resting her chin against Butch's shoulder, sobbing.  
  
"Madmoiselle, they do this quite often," Allison said quietly. Meowth sat in her arms, not wanting to see Jessie in her present condition.  
  
"Butch ..." Cassidy ran her hand around the frame of his face, then down his shoulder, stopping at a deep gash, the blood soaking through his shirt. "Oh my god ..."  
  
She immediately reached over and tore the end of her uniform, taking the cloth and pressing it onto his shoulder carefully.  
  
"We cannot stay here much longer," Allison said nervously. "We must take them and escape from here ... if you would allow me ..."  
  
She checked her keys, then pulled one out, first unlocking the chains that held Butch's wrists, then Jessie's. Cassidy tore off another long scrap on her dress, then placed the scraps on his torn up wrists.  
  
"I was hoping you'd come," He said meekly, trying to sound cheerful to help lighten Cassidy's mood.  
  
Jessie collapsed as the bands were taken off her wrists, falling straight into James' awaiting arms, and bursting into tears.  
  
"Shh, Jessie, it's alright, we're going to get out of here, then we'll make sure you get better ..."  
  
He carefully held her in his arms and stood up, carrying her as he might carry a baby. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing.  
  
"Alright, I'm getting you out of here," Cassidy said determindly, using all of her strength to pull Butch to his feet, then wrapping his arm around her shoulder to support him. "And once you're all better, you get to pay me back for all this, okay?"  
  
She grinned at him, happy to finally be getting out of the cold room.  
  
"Follow me, my friends, and we shall escape," Allison said, leading the group out into the hall. She stepped quietly along the floor as the group made their way to the bookcase door. They stepped out, continued down the hall, and Allison was just stepping around the corner when suddenly, they heard footsteps coming towards them.  
  
"Qu'est-ce que c'est? What is it?" Allison peeked ahead, then gasped.  
  
"Allison ... my dear little French maiden, what brings you out so late at night?"  
  
Allison swung her arm back to keep the rest of the group behind the corner.  
  
"Je suis malade, I am ill monsieur," Allison said, placing a hand on her forehead. "I went out to get a cup of water."  
  
"All the way back here?"  
  
"There is a water fountain," Allison pointed behind her. Giovanni raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I didn't know you had a Meowth, Allison."  
  
"Oh, oui monsieur, I found him just yesterday out in the woods alone. He was sick and hungry, so I took him in."  
  
"How kind of you ..." Giovanni smiled sinisterly. "Train him well. Good night."  
  
"Bonne nuit."  
  
Allison watched as he continued down the hall, then stepped into an office alone. She breathed a sigh of relief, and pet Meowth softly on the head.  
  
"He's gone," She whispered, motioning the others to follow her. They didn't take but two steps when they heard a loud hissing behind them.  
  
"It's Persian!" Meowth hissed, baring his claws.  
  
"Just ignore him, Meowth," Allison advised, continuing to walk. The others followed suit, until Cassidy shrieked in pain.  
  
"Stupid cat!" She kicked the Persian away, glancing at the blood on her achielles, then trying to ignore the pain. The Persian lunged again at her foot, but Cassidy swiftly knocked him to the side. Persian hissed loudly, and a door opened.  
  
"Persian? What's ..."  
  
Giovanni stopped, his eyes wide, staring with disbelief at the group. Allison set down Meowth on the floor, then pushed the others behind her.  
  
"Courir! Tout de suite, depechez-vous!" She shouted, positioning herself in front of the group as they hurried down the hall as fast as they could.  
  
"Allison, I knew you were up to no good ... releasing prisoners! What a shame, really ..." He pressed a button on an intercom, ironically placed just outside the door. "Security? We've got a few prisoners excaping ..."  
  
He smiled slyly, then pulled a small gun out from his pocket.  
  
"S'il vous plait, monsieur, please sir, do not shoot!"  
  
Giovanni said nothing, but held up the gun, and pulled the trigger. A shot rang through the air, and headed straight towards James ...  
  
"Meowth!"  
  
Meowth jumped up, placing himself between the bullet and James, and the bullet pierced through his fur as he collapsed to the ground. Allison rushed over to Meowth, gently picking him up.  
  
"Not a smart move," Giovanni smiled, then held up the gun again.  
  
"I wouldn't shoot if I were you," Cassidy said, reaching behind her back and pulling out her own gun. "Luckily I didn't put this back after our last mission ..."  
  
Butch pulled away slightly from Cassidy, then pulled out his own gun, pointing it carefully at Giovanni.  
  
"How intriguing," Giovanni said. "I guess it's two against one, though Cassidy is in the best shape of the two ..."  
  
"Because you nearly killed him!" Cassidy yelled, shakily holding up the gun.  
  
"Shooting me wouldn't be very smart ... bravery only results in tragedy," He nodded towards Meowth's bloody form in Allison's arms.  
  
"If bravery results in tragedy, then trickery results in success."  
  
Cassidy squeezed the trigger, and her single bullet flew out, hitting Giovanni straight in the shoulder. He staggered backwards, wincing in pain. Cassidy grabbed Butch's gun without hesitation and held it up.  
  
"Let us go, now."  
  
"Never," Giovanni said, picking himself up, then holding up his gun. Before anyone could think, he shot a bullet straight at Cassidy. The bullet went off slightly to the side, but hit her in the arm nonetheless. She keeled over, dropping the gun to the floor.  
  
"Not so tricky anymore, are you Cassidy?"  
  
"Nobody hurts Cassidy," Butch sneered, carefully reaching over, then grabbing the gun. He held it up and shot it, the bullet hitting Giovanni in the chest this time. Giovanni shouted in pain, as Butch grabbed Cassidy around her waist, despite his own pain, then motioned for Allison and James to run.  
  
***  
  
"The girls will be fine," The doctor smiled politely, as Butch and James exchanged relieved glances. "You can go on in and see them."  
  
They hurried into the hospital room where Jessie and Cassidy sat in opposite beds, both looking bored to tears.  
  
"Finally!" Jessie said, annoyed. "I didn't think they'd ever let you in here! We've been doing nothing for hours!"  
  
"Seriously," Cassidy rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well excuse us!" James laughed, sitting at the end of Jessie's bed. "What'd the doctor say?"  
  
"I had some kind of exhaustion, dehydration, and hypothermia ..."  
  
"Like me, only worse," Butch put in, then turned to Cassidy. "And what about you?"  
  
"Hmm ... well, I got shot in the arm!" Cassidy rolled her eyes again. "That's not very hard to figure out, Butch ..."  
  
"Well, now that you two can get out of the hospital tomorrow ..." James grinned at Butch. "Me and Butch decided to do something for you ..."  
  
"Uh oh," Jessie looked at Cassidy, then grinned.  
  
"We scraped together our money and got a few tickets for a little cruise ..."  
  
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"  
  
"Of course!" James flashed the tickets to everyone. "Plus there's an extra one for Allison too, after all, I think we owe her for saving our life ..."  
  
Jessie threw her arms around James happily, as did Cassidy. After a few moments, Jessie pulled away and frowned.  
  
"Does that mean that ... Meowth ...?"  
  
"I though he used up all his nine lives ... but he must've had an extra one stuck in there somewhere."  
  
Jessie grinned.  
  
"He'll be out of the vet tomorrow," James said, taking Jessie's hand in his. "So you have about a week to go shopping."  
  
"Great! We'll have to get at least six new swimsuits, a few new outfits, some dresses for the evenings ..."  
  
The group laughed at Jessie's remark, happy to be together and well again.  
  
For once, bravery *did* result in sucess.  
  



	6. Part 3

Author: Yours truly, Meowth_Rocket a.k.a. Audrey  
  
Rating: Only a strong PG this time, kittens!  
  
Dedication: To any and all Meowth fans out there, this one's for you!  
  
Feedback: Come on, I'm trying to have a bit of self-confidence this time! Email me! odile@danceart.net  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Allison?"  
  
Allison looked down onto the floor where Meowth sat, a ball of yarn at his paws.  
  
"You wanna play?" He asked shyly, kicking the yarn a little bit with his right paw, and looking at Allison curiously.  
  
"Oh, Meowth," She bent down and took his face in her hands. "You know I would love to play with you, petite chat, but I am preparing for ... ah ... a meeting."  
  
"With who?"  
  
"I ... er," Allison blushed.  
  
"Let me guess ... a date?"  
  
"You are very smart," She gave him a pat on the head, then stood up. "Why don't you ask Jessie or James to play with you?"  
  
Meowth frowned, picked up the yawn, and walked into the next room. They had all been staying in a large cabin for the past few months, since they got back from their cruise. The cabin had originally been a getaway cabin for Team Rocket, but seeing as no one had used it in years, the two retired Team Rocket teams had taken it over for themselves. It was nearly Christmas, already, and the weather was getting colder and colder, making it less enjoyable to go outside.  
  
"Hey James!" Meowth shouted, startling James, who was sitting on the couch and watching TV, stuffing his face with donuts. "Let's play something'!"  
  
"No way, Meowth," James shook his head. "Last time I played something with you, it was truth or dare, and you dared me to stick my head in a toilet for five minutes."  
  
James shook his head and shuddered, shooing Meowth away with one hand. Meowth frowned again, then hopped into the kitchen, where Jessie and Cassidy were making dinner.  
  
"Meowth, we don't have time to play with you," Jessie said, not even giving Meowth a chance to plead his case. "I heard you in there asking James, and there's no way I'm going to play a game with you. Besides, this is so unlike you, wanting to play something ..."  
  
"I am a cat, you know," Meowth grumbled.  
  
"Butch is at the store right now, so if you want to go wait outside, I'm sure when he comes back he'll play with you," Cassidy said hopefully. "And if he won't, I'll play with you after dinner, okay?"  
  
"Fine," Meowth sighed, took his yawn, and walked outside.  
  
It was only 6:00, and already dark outside. Meowth walked a little ways out into the woods surrounding the cabin, and glanced to his right, where far off, he could just barely see a set of strobe lights circling the sky. He knew they must be coming from Hollywood, which wasn't too far away from the cabin where they were staying. His mind started to drift back into his past ...  
  
"Look, I've learned to walk and talk, just like a human! All for you, my love ..."  
  
"Walk and talk? Don't you know you'll never be a human? You're just a ... walking, talking freak Meowth!"  
  
He shook his head, trying to forget.  
  
"You're just a dirty old street Meowth! I would never love you."  
  
"No, no, no," He shook his head furiously. "Stop it, stop thinking about this!"  
  
"Nya!"  
  
Her sweet voice seemed to echo ...  
  
"Nya nya nya!"  
  
"Me-ow, meowth meow! Meow?"  
  
"Stop it!" Meowth sat down in the cold leaves. "You're not a Meowth, not anymore! You're a human! You live with humans, you walk and talk like the humans, not a Meowth! You belong with the humans, they're the only ones!"  
  
"Nyaaa?"  
  
Meowth tried to convince himself again, not to let his memories take control ... he broke down, trying to forget all the memories that he had tried to brush off before, not wanting to let the humans see his real emotions. He had hidden them all, tried to seem as un-moved as possible about ... her ... but the sadness, the anger, it had returned.  
  
He muffled his sobs, taking a minute to regain his composure, then looked up into the sky. A tiny snowflake fell, and tickled his nose.  
  
"Nya, nya nya nya ... I'm all alone again ..."  
  
He ignored the meows in his head, picked up his yarn, and began to make his way back to the cabin.  
  
"Nya nya ... No one to help me ..."  
  
"Stop it, you're just imagining," He scolded himself, and continued walking.  
  
"Nya nya nya ... Abandoned again ..."  
  
He stopped. He had been translating the meows in his head the whole time ... the meowing was real. He looked back into the woods.  
  
"Nya ... Lost ..."  
  
Meowth began to walk in the direction of the meows, hoping the Meowth he was hearing was alright in the cold snow ...  
  
"Nya? Who is that?"  
  
"Don't worry, little Meowth," He said. "I'm coming to get ya ... I'm another Meowth, just like you ... only difference is, I can talk ..."  
  
"Nya nya nya! The worst of luck, found by a freak Meowth!"  
  
Meowth halted. The meows were all too familiar, he knew. He had only been called a freak by another Meowth once before ...  
  
"Meowsie," He said, looking over at the tiny cat, shivering underneath a blanket of snow.  
  
"Nya nya nya nya!" She cried. "Go away! I'd rather die than be found by *you* ..."  
  
"You're cold," Meowth said. "You would die if you stayed in these woods any longer; if not from the cold, you'd be killed by who knows what."  
  
"Go away! Just leave me ..." Meowsie's head dropped - she had fainted.  
  
"I can't leave her out here," Meowth sighed, dropping to all fours, then scooping Meowsie up onto his back. He nearly crumpled from the dead weight. "Meowth! I've gotta start workin' out more ..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So you brought her BACK?!" Jessie rolled her eyes. "Meowth, the girl is trouble! Don't go giving into her little ways again!"  
  
"I couldn't leave her in the woods by herself!" Meowth argued.  
  
"What were you doing in the woods anyway?" Jessie said snidely. "Trying to run away to Hollywood again?"  
  
"No!" Meowth growled, then swiped Jessie on the face.  
  
"Not again," Jessie stomped out of the room, still angry. Jessie had looked mad the minute Meowth walked into the cabin, dragging Meowsie behind him; not really mad at him, but mad for him. It was a strange situation, and there was nothing Jessie hated more than strange situations and worthless girls.  
  
"It'll be okay," Cassidy smiled, running a hand over Meowth's back. "I put Meowsie in her own little basket ... she's in the other room, sleeping."  
  
Meowth wasted no time in hurrying into the next room, and over to the basket in the corner. He peered inside, where Meowsie slept peacefully.  
  
"You've deserted me twice, insulted me, left me," Meowth said quietly. "And yet, I still come back to you. Is it gonna happen again? I won't fall for you again, I won't let it happen ..."  
  
The basket looked huge next to tiny Meowsie. Meowth gingerly set a paw in.  
  
"Why do I always come back? Something draws me to you, something deeper ..."  
  
He stepped inside the basket, tired from his long day. He curled up next to Meowsie, falling asleep quickly to the sound of her gentle, rhythmic breathing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ah! Get this freak Meowth away from me!"  
  
Meowth felt himself shoved away, and he fell onto the floor outside the basket.  
  
"Freak Meowth?" Meowth said shakily.  
  
"Stop calling him a freak!"  
  
"Really! He saved your life, you know! You could be out in the woods, dead, if it weren't for him!"  
  
Meowth looked up, where Jessie and James stood, looking at Meowsie angrily.  
  
"It's alright yous two," Meowth said groggily, his Jersey accent sounding thicker than usual.  
  
"No it's not," Jessie said. "Just give me five minutes with this cat, and I'll whip her into shape ..."  
  
"It's fine, it's fine," Meowth said, rubbing his head where he had landed. "Listen, can I have a few minutes alone with Meowsie?"  
  
"Seems like you're getting along with her just fine, if you fell asleep next to her," Jessie retorted quickly, but James took her arm and lead her out of the room.  
  
"Why don't you go with them, freak Meowth. That's who you belong with."  
  
"With Jessie and James? You're probably right," Meowth sighed. "Why were you out in the woods, Meowsie?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about that," Meowsie looked away sadly.  
  
"You were abandoned, weren't you? By that Persian?"  
  
"He found a girl Persian," Meowsie looked back at Meowth. "And once she joined ... they all told me to leave the gang, that I didn't have a place with them anymore ..."  
  
"I can't believe that!" Meowth said. "Just let me at that Persian, and I'd rip him to shreds, after the way he treated you!"  
  
Meowsie said nothing, only looked at Meowth with a certain air of disbelief on her face.  
  
"Ooh, where is the new little cat? Is this her?" Allison came in, and scooped Meowsie up into her arms. "How cute! What a sweetheart!"  
  
"Isn't she?" Cassidy scratched Meowsie behind the ears. "I'm so glad you brought such a cute little kitty home with you, Meowth!"  
  
Meowth smiled proudly as the two girls made such a fuss over Meowsie, who was grinning and purring herself at all the attention. Meowth could tell she had missed having humans faun over her so much, and was enjoying the petting quite a lot.  
  
"I could get used to this," Meowth heard Meowsie mutter to herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So ... are we going to keep her?" Butch asked the group. "She's well enough to go back out on her own now ..."  
  
"No way," Jessie said firmly. "She left Meowth twice, it's time he leave her."  
  
"S'il vous plait, mademoiselle, may we please keep the cat?" Allison asked sweetly.  
  
"She's not loyal," James said.  
  
"Maybe she's changed," Meowth said quietly.  
  
"She'll have to prove it," Jessie said. "She hasn't convinced me."  
  
"Let her stay," Meowth said. "I ... want another Meowth around."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm not human, no matter how much I want to be. I'll always be a Meowth. Meowth's never live alone, they always have another Meowth with them."  
  
"But you're not like other Meowths!" Jessie argued. "You can walk and talk, you've lived most of your life with humans ... besides, Meowth, you're our friend. We ... we don't want to lose you."  
  
"You're not gonna lose me, Jess. I won't leave. You'll be gaining another Meowth."  
  
"Hmph," Jessie grunted and turned away. "Fine with me. But if that Persian comes to take her back, don't expect James and I to be at your rescue again."  
  
"Jessie ..." James started to say, but Jessie stomped out of the room.  
  
"I don't understand why she's so upset about Meowsie," Cassidy said, gently petting the tiny cat in her lap. "I'm sure it will work out fine."  
  
"She's not," Butch said. "I think she's just being careful for Meowth's sake."  
  
"I'm smart. I can make my own decisions," Meowth said firmly.  
  
"I hope this is the right decision," James said, giving Meowth a skeptical look, and then walking away.  
  
"It will be. I'm sure," Cassidy said, lifting Meowsie out of her lap and setting her on the floor beside her. "I'll talk to Jessie later."  
  
The others in the room left soon after that, and Meowth and Meowsie were left alone in the room. Meowsie began to clean her fur, the sunlight from a window above her splashing onto her fur, making her look, to Meowth - just like a princess.  
  
"You're so beautiful," He whispered quietly.  
  
"Nya?"  
  
Meowth looked away. Did she hear him? Would she say anything? She continued to clean her fur as if nothing had happened. A bit discouraged, Meowth walked away.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Meowth decided that he had to do something to impress Meowsie. He just didn't know what.  
  
"Allison?"  
  
"Oui, Meowth?"  
  
"What ... I mean ... what could ... I mean, I ... what could a guy do to impress you?"  
  
"What impresses me? Hmm, maybe giving me flowers or candy, and a candlelit dinner ... so very romantic ..." Allison looked away with a starry eyed look on her face. Meowth twisted his face in confusion; a dinner? Would Meowsie like that?  
  
"Thanks Allison," Meowth said, deciding he better ask for some more opinions so Allison wouldn't catch on to what he was doing.  
  
"Cassidy?"  
  
"Hm?" Cassidy looked up from the book she was reading. "Hi, Meowth. What's up?"  
  
"I wanted to ask you ... would a candlelit dinner be a good idea to impress a girl?"  
  
"Definitely," Cassidy nodded. "And a romantic walk afterwards ... ooh, perfect ... I wish Butch would ... I mean ..."  
  
A walk? He still had too many questions ...  
  
Deciding to take his chances, he went to Jessie.  
  
"A candlelit dinner?" Jessie became so excited with this idea, she didn't even bother to think about who it was with. "Ooh, Meowth, you have to look perfect if you want to impress her ..."  
  
She immediately jumped into her closet and pulled out the huge trunk of their old costumes, dug through it for a few minutes, then pulled out Meowth's mini-tux. She then grabbed some cologne of James' and shoved it into Meowth's paws.  
  
"Now ... corsage ..."  
  
She paused, thinking, then her face lit up.  
  
"I'll go get some, okay? You come see me before your dinner, and I'll give them to you. One for you, and one for ..."  
  
Her face fell.  
  
"Meowsie, right?"  
  
"Well," Meowth gulped.  
  
"Hmm. I guess it won't hurt," Jessie said. "Anyway, I'll give them to you. You can have the dinner out on the deck."  
  
"Thanks," Meowth said, surprised at all the help Jessie was giving him. He next went to find James, who was (again) watching T.V. and eating donuts.  
  
"A candlelit DINNER?" James squealed. "Oooh! Can I come?"  
  
"No, James, that would defeat the whole purpose of it being a romantic, candlelit dinner."  
  
"Oh, I guess you're right," He frowned. "Well, you'll have to have good food, you know. Some French cuisine ... ooh yes, leave the food up to me. I'm sure with my food knowledge, and Allison's French knowledge, we could come up with some great dinner ..."  
  
Meowth grinned happily. He only needed one more question answered.  
  
"What do you talk about?" Butch thought for a moment. "Well, first just normal stuff, like current events in your life, blah blah, then you get a little bit deeper, like with your relationship. Oh, and you must sneak in little compliments every now and then, too, those really impress a girl. Then you get really deep, like how you feel about her, how much you love her ... you're a cool cat, Meowth, I'm sure you'll do fine."  
  
Meowth was so happy, he couldn't stand it. His evening was going to be perfect; he just hoped it would be perfect for Meowsie.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I've got the corsages, Meowth, and look what else I got! Isn't it *cute*?!"  
  
"Cute isn't the word ..."  
  
Jessie held up a tiny black dress, which , Meowth assumed, she had purchased for Meowsie to wear for the evening. Meowth had to admit, it would look elegant on Meowsie ... but not *cute* ...  
  
"Here are the corsages," Jessie handed the beautiful (and small) red flowers to Meowth. "You just relax and have fun, okay? I'm sure Meowsie will enjoy the evening."  
  
Meowth knew Cassidy had been talking to her - Jessie would never say "Relax and have fun, okay?"  
  
"The food's ready, too," James called from the kitchen. "Allison's out setting up the table right now."  
  
"Here, Meowth!" Cassidy ran in, shoving a bouquet of flowers into Meowth's paws. "Butch got these for you to give to Meowsie."  
  
"Thanks," Meowth said, surprised.  
  
"The table is ready!" Allison said, her French accent rich, as it always got when she was excited. "Ooh, this will be such a wonderful evening, Oui?"  
  
"Oui," Meowth grinned, the French sounding alien on his own Jersey tongue.  
  
"Okay, she's just in the other room," Cassidy said. "Jessie just went in there to give her the dress, but she's not saying anything about the dinner. Jessie's going to bring her out here, then you can escort her to the deck, and we'll leave you alone for the rest of the evening."  
  
Meowth paced out of nervousness, back and forth across the room.  
  
"Here she comes," James said. "Relax!"  
  
Meowth looked up; he gasped.  
  
There she was, looking so elegant in the black dress. A beautiful perfumed whipped across his nose, and a rose was perched upon her ear. She gave Meowth a curious meow.  
  
"Follow me," Meowth walked to her, and held out his paw.  
  
"What am I supposed to do?"  
  
"Get up on two legs, I'll hold you up."  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Just do it," Jessie said, making a guess at what Meowsie's last comment had been, then picked Meowsie up by the waist and set her down on her two hind legs. She grabbed Meowsie's paw and put it in Meowth's.  
  
"We'll go slow," Meowth grinned.  
  
The two eventually (after only a few falls) made their way out onto the deck, where Meowsie gasped at the sight of the beautifully set table. Meowth had to admit, Allison had done a splendid job with the table - he just hoped she and James had fixed a good meal. Meowth led Meowsie to her seat, and as she sat down, he presented her with the corsage and the bouquet of flowers.  
  
"Meowth, I ..."  
  
She paused. She had never referred to him as just Meowth before.  
  
"I can't believe you've gone to all this trouble ..."  
  
"Ah, well, it was nothing," Meowth grinned nervously, and sat down.  
  
"Good evening, monsieur, mademoiselle ... welcome to Cafe Roquet."  
  
Meowth looked up at James with such an odd look, James couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"Now, for ze appetizer ... shrimp salad!"  
  
He set down a huge plate of shrimp salad (mostly shrimp) in front of them, and with a bow, retreated into the kitchen.  
  
"How am I supposed to eat this?"  
  
"With your paws," Meowth said. "A fork. It's easy."  
  
Meowsie skeptically picked up the fork with her paw, and with only a little trouble, managed to spear a shrimp and put it into her mouth. She relaxed at the taste of it, smiling to herself, until she noticed Meowth waiting.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How do you like it?"  
  
"It's divine."  
  
Meowth grinned happily, and began to eat some himself, remembering his best manners at the table - after all, Meowsie had come from a very high class human.  
  
"Are you ready for ze main course?" James asked in a fake French accent, taking away the salad as Allison came out with a covered plate. "Dinner is served."  
  
She set down the plate and took off the cover.  
  
"French toast?!"  
  
"Ah, well," Allison grinned nervously. "I was never much the cook, you see."  
  
"And what about your knowledge of French cuisine?" Meowth narrowed his eyes at James.  
  
"French toast is ... French!" James laughed nervously. "We have French Fries too!"  
  
Meowth rolled his eyes as the two ran back into the kitchen. He noticed Meowsie staring at him strangely, and all he could do was shrug.  
  
"Dig in."  
  
After a few minutes of silent eating, Meowth finally decided to use some of his conversation tips.  
  
"So ... do you like it here?  
  
"Oh, yes," Meowsie nodded. "Your humans are very nice."  
  
Meowth paused, hoping he would think of something better to say, when he noticed something different about Meowsie ...  
  
"What happened to your collar?"  
  
"What?" Meowsie nearly choked on her champagne. "My collar?"  
  
"Yeah, that really pretty diamond one you used to have. Where is it? I haven't seen it at all this whole time you've been here."  
  
"Oh, um ... well, Persian said it didn't look like something a street Meowth would wear, so he ... ah ... took it away."  
  
"Took it away?! Of all the nerve! Why, if I could get my paws on him ..."  
  
"He cared for me!" Meowsie said in defense, looking away.  
  
"Cared for you until it was time to find you a replacement, that is."  
  
"Well ... you were in the same gang, you know!"  
  
"Yeah," Meowth sighed. At least this dinner was going better than the last one he had with Meowsie.  
  
"There's a lot you didn't know about the Persian," Meowsie said quietly.  
  
"I know. He took me in when no one else accepted me."  
  
"But you left."  
  
"I did, and I joined Team Rocket. I was in the head office for awhile as Top Cat until I got assigned to two new members to show them the ropes."  
  
"Then did you become Top Cat again?"  
  
"Nope. Got replaced by a Persian."  
  
"Really?" Meowsie said. "So that's why you hate Persians so much. You got replaced by one."  
  
"Three times," Meowth corrected her. "Once with you, once with a human named Cassandra, and once with the Top Cat."  
  
"That's awful," Meowsie sighed.  
  
"Yeah, well, ya get used to it," Meowth said. "I'm tough. I can get through it."  
  
"You're tough? I don't believe that."  
  
"What?" It was Meowth's turn to choke.  
  
"I think you're just an old softy, who puts on an act so people won't bother you. You pretend to act tough, like no one can hurt you, but you've been hurt so many times. You act like you could get through anything by yourself, but you really value your life on your friendships with the humans. You wouldn't live without those humans."  
  
"Well," Meowth looked away uncomfortably.  
  
"And I know I've been one of the ones to hurt you, Meowth, and let me tell you ... I am very, very sorry."  
  
"Huh?" Meowth looked up at Meowsie, who placed a delicate paw on his own paw.  
  
"I don't want you to be hurt anymore, Meowth. I've realized how much you really care for me, more so than that Persian ever did, and I want you to know that ... I ... feel the same way. I care about you. I ... love you."  
  
Meowth looked at her with disbelief. Did she really mean it? Did she really love him?  
  
"Dessert," James grinned, knocking both cats out of their trance as he set down a huge ice cream sundae in front of them.  
  
"This is marvelous!" Meowsie grinned as she took a bite of the sundae.  
  
"You know, Meowsie ... you really should learn English."  
  
"English?" Meowsie paused. "Oh no, I really couldn't ..."  
  
"Yeah you could! It's easy! We'll start with simple words that are easy to say ... how about 'nice'?"  
  
"Nya?"  
  
"*Nice*."  
  
"Nya," Meowsie shook her head. "I can't do it. It's too hard."  
  
"Just keep trying!"  
  
"Okay," Meowsie sighed. "Nya .. nya .. n-nyi .. nyic ... nyice?"  
  
"There you go!"  
  
"Nya-ice ... n-n-ice?"  
  
"You did it! You said 'nice'!" Meowth beamed. "See, I told you it wasn't that hard!"  
  
"Nice!" Meowsie beamed too. "Maybe I could learn a few words of English ..."  
  
"Definitely!" Meowth finished the last bite of the sundae, and looked at her. "Would you like to go for a walk?"  
  
"Nice!"  
  
"Does that mean yes?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The two walked towards the woods together, in silence. Finally, Meowth stopped and, still holding Meowsie's paw, turned to her.  
  
"That stuff you said at dinner ... do you really mean it?"  
  
"Of course," Meowsie said. "This is the third time you've gone after me ... you learned English for me, you learned to walk for me, you fought for me ... I've finally realized how much you must really like me."  
  
"I wouldn't do all that if I didn't like you, Meowsie."  
  
He felt something tickle his tail, and he looked around to see it was her own tail. He turned back to look at her once again ... she moved in and kissed him.  
  
It was the most wonderful thing Meowth had ever felt - he realized why humans did it all the time. It was extraordinary.  
  
"Meowth, I love you more than anything in this world. You must understand this ... you are nothing compared to Persian. You're so ... beautiful ..." Meowsie leaned forward and kissed him again. "You must understand that I would never hurt you, not under my own will power. Please, please, tell me you understand."  
  
"I understand," Meowth nodded, falling completely into her trance.  
  
"Wonderful," Meowsie smiled at him, but it was a sad smile. "Thank you for understanding ... I'm so sorry, Meowth."  
  
"Sorry for what?"  
  
"Sorry I have to do this to you ..." She pounced on Meowth, pinning him to the ground, her paws positioned around Meowth's throat.  
  
"Meowsie, what are you doing?"  
  
"I could never hurt you, Meowth. The Persian is making me ... I'm sorry ..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Where is that hairball?" Jessie tapped a foot impatiently. "I knew sending him off into the woods with that Meowsie was a bad idea. He's been gone for over an hour!"  
  
"Relax!" Cassidy laid a hand on Jessie's shoulder. "They're just having a good time!"  
  
"Whatever that little runt is doing to Meowth, it can't be good ..."  
  
"Would you just get over it?" Cassidy's eyes narrowed. "Honestly, sometimes I think you're just jealous that Meowth is having such a good time with his date ..."  
  
"Jealous?! How could I be jealous?!"  
  
"Hey, you two!" Butch pushed himself between the two girls. "Let's not get in a fight, over this!"  
  
"Yeah, Meowth's probably on his way back right now," James put in.  
  
"Hmm, well ... if he isn't back in ten minutes, I'm going out to look for him," Jessie said, pulling herself away from the group. "I still think that Meowsie's up to no good."  
  
Cassidy rolled her eyes, not willing to argue it any further, and retreated into her bedroom. James followed Jessie as she walked towards a window, looking out onto the woods.  
  
"Something's not right, James," She said quietly. "I can sense it. Something's wrong."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's Meowth," Jessie said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm going out there to find him."  
  
"Don't do that, Jessie," James said worriedly. "Send Arbok out. He can make sure everything's okay, and he won't make any noise in the woods."  
  
Jessie frowned, then picked up her Pokeball, opened the window, and threw it outside.  
  
"Ch-arbok!"  
  
"Find Meowth, Arbok, and make sure everything's okay. Don't bother him or anything, just watch for a minute and make sure they're alright."  
  
"Charbok," Arbok nodded, and slithered out into the woods. A few minutes later he returned, an urgent look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jessie said. Arbok said nothing, only opened his mouth to spit out what he had been carrying. Jessie hurried outside, followed by James, and picked up the item on the ground.  
  
"Meowth's corsage!" James said, his eyes wide. "And there's ... blood!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"My Meowsie, my beautiful, sweet Meowsie ... you brought me a prize?"  
  
"Yes sir," Meowsie bowed her head respectfully. "Carried it all the way from the woods, just for you."  
  
"And what may it be?"  
  
"Dead Meowth, sir."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I knew it, just knew it! Meowth was too good for her! I knew that cat was trouble!"  
  
The group sat in the living room, all speechless except for Jessie, ranting about how she had been right all along.  
  
"And God knows where he is now! Probably dead in a gutter somewhere, killed by that awful little ..."  
  
"Jessie," Cassidy said sweetly. "Shut up."  
  
"Hmph," Jessie folded her arms. "I hope you're all happy."  
  
"Mademoiselle, there is still a chance Meowth is alive," Allison said optimistically. "Perhaps another creature in the woods attacked him."  
  
"Then where's Meowsie?"  
  
Allison frowned, biting her lip in thought.  
  
"Well, we don't know that that's Meowth's blood on the corsage," Butch suggested. "Maybe something happened to Meowsie, and that's her corsage."  
  
"But then where's Meowth?" Jessie threw out. "You all know very well that they're both missing in action, and there's no possible way of finding them!"  
  
"Hollywood," James muttered.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Hollywood," James lifted his eyes. "It's just through the woods. That's where they are. Meowth was ... catnapped!"  
  
"Catnapped?" Jessie paused. "I guess that's not so ridiculous."  
  
"Of course not!" Allison said. "That must be where they are ... we must find them!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Huh ... wha?"  
  
"I thought he was dead!"  
  
"I thought he was, too ... I guess not ..."  
  
Meowth opened his eyes and looked around groggily.  
  
"Where am I?" He narrowed his eyes to clear his vision. He noticed that his left ear felt clogged.  
  
"Hollywood," Said an all too familiar purr.  
  
"Persian!" Meowth said disgustedly, making out the creature in the early morning dawn. "How'd I get here?"  
  
"By the back of a beautiful princess."  
  
Meowth looked behind the Persian, where sat a little creature, her eyes bloodshot from crying, her fur matted and tangled.  
  
"Meowsie? You?"  
  
Meowsie lowered her head, ashamed, not wanting to look Meowth in the face.  
  
"She was sent to kill you," Persian purred happily. "We came close."  
  
"Kill me?!" Meowth narrowed his eyes and gathered his courage to stand up and fight, but his weakness overcame him, and he dropped his head on the ground in unbelievable pain.  
  
"A bit jostled, are you? My little fighter kitten did well."  
  
It was then that Meowth noticed how dim the voice sounded, why his left ear felt clogged.  
  
He was half-deaf.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"This is where we lost him last time," James pointed at a building in front of them. "He ran off by himself, and that's when he found the gang of Meowth again, and Meowsie."  
  
"So if we work from here, we should find him," Butch nodded.  
  
"I think I might remember where that alley the gang hung out in was," Jessie said. "Follow me."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I can't believe you!" Meowth shouted at Meowsie. "After all we went through ..."  
  
"You said you understood!" Meowsie cried. "It wasn't me who hurt you!"  
  
"Oh yeah? I suppose the Good Fairy just came down and bopped me on the head?"  
  
"Shut up! I didn't hurt you that bad ... I was trying to kill you!"  
  
"Not that bad? Meowsie, I'm deaf in one ear!"  
  
Meowsie sank back, her face dropping, not able to think of another comment.  
  
"How I love lover's spats, but I'm afraid I must interrupt. We can't have a half-dead Meowth hanging around. We like them either one way or the other."  
  
Persian crouched down slightly, his tail swishing, and he began the pounce ...  
  
"Stop right there and prepare for trouble!"  
  
"Watch your step, or we'll make it double!"  
  
"Persian?" The Persian turned around, confused, and stared at the silhouette of four humans.  
  
"To protect our Meowth from worthless cats!" One of the figures jumped down, a gleam catching on her red hair.  
  
"To help in fights with ugly rats!" Another figure jumped down from their position, the shadow of a rose in his hand.  
  
"To show him that we really care!" A sweet voice said, more determined from usual, as she jumped down.  
  
"And that we're with him, everywhere!" The last voice said in a croak, joining the others.  
  
"Jessie!" A spotlight from seemingly nowhere splashed onto her.  
  
"James!"  
  
"Cassidy!"  
  
"Butch!"  
  
"You guys ..." Meowth's eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Our Ship of Friends has just set sail!" Jessie said enthusiastically.  
  
"And this time, Meowth, we won't fail!" James finished, as one last figure jumped down in front of them.  
  
"Allison, that's right!" Allison grinned.  
  
"I can't believe it," Meowth said, holding back his tears from his darkened eyes. "You guys came to get me ..."  
  
"Worthless! They can't save you now!"  
  
Persian pounced on Meowth, his teeth bared. Meowth hissed and pushed him off, surprising even himself at his sudden rush of strength. He returned the pounce with a swipe across the Persian's face.  
  
"Atta boy, Meowth!" Jessie cheered. "You've got him good!"  
  
"Is that all? Just a stupid fury swipe? You are a freak Meowth! Even with your talking, you can't even do a powerful attack!"  
  
"I'll show you powerful attack," Meowth growled, clenching his fists and lowering his head. Suddenly, a burst of coins spilled from his charm, hitting Persian straight on.  
  
"It's Pay Day! He's doing Pay Day!" James cried. "Go, Meowth! You can do it!"  
  
The Persian slumped, but pulled himself together.  
  
"Meowth gang, attack!"  
  
Meowths emerged from the shadows, their faces hungry for kill.  
  
"Don't worry about the gang, we'll get them!" Cassidy shouted, pulling out a Pokeball. "Alright, Raticate, I hope you do better this battle than you did the last one!"  
  
"Arbok, go!" Jessie tossed her Pokeball. "Double Team with Raticate!"  
  
The two Pokemon lurched forward, frantically trying to bite the Meowth, who merely swiped them away.  
  
"I've got this one," James said. "Weezing, smog!"  
  
Weezing materialized from the Pokeball James had thrown, and immediately set smogging the scene to confuse the Meowth.  
  
"Alright, Lickitung," Jessie said, taking her other Pokeball out. "Paralyze the Meowth!"  
  
"Lick!" Lickitung reached his long tongue out, paralyzing with each lick to a Meowth.  
  
Meanwhile, Meowsie sat on a dumpster, watching the scene in safety, wondering if she had done the right thing ...  
  
"Your Pay Day is strong ... but still, so weak .." Persian lowered his own head, and went straight into his own Pay Day attack, which hurtled Meowth against the alley wall. The Persian jumped on him, scratching and tearing away, beating Meowth down.  
  
"Meowth!" Jessie said, turning around to watch the scene.  
  
"NYA!"  
  
From the dumpster jumped Meowsie herself, falling onto the Persian's back with outstretched claws as the sound of a nearby police siren wailed towards them. Meowsie pulled the Persian away from Meowth, mewed at him, and looking rejected, the Persian turned around and left in a huff, away from the others into the shadows.  
  
"You stay away from Meowth!" Jessie said as the group ran forward, scooping the unconscious cat into her arms. Meowsie looked longingly at Meowth for a moment, whispered a quiet meow, then scampered off into the shadows.  
  
"The police are coming past, we better split," Butch said, looking towards the direction of the sirens worriedly. The group, with Meowth clinging onto life, escaped just as the police car pulled up to an empty scene.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Je t'aime, je t'aime, c'est tout ..."  
  
Meowth opened his eyes at the sound of the beautiful melody ...  
  
"Oh! Petite chat!" He heard, as Allison scooped him into her arms in a tight hug. "You are alright! I am so happy!"  
  
"Meowth!" Jessie said happily. "I didn't think you were going to come out of that one alive!"  
  
"Nine lives," James laughed. "More like twenty-one!"  
  
"You've been asleep for two days," Cassidy said, scratching Meowth behind his ears. "The vet didn't know if you were going to come through, but I guess you did!"  
  
"I ... I ..." Meowth could hardly speak, his emotions overwhelming him.  
  
"Don't worry, don't speak," Allison hushed him. "You must be exhausted ... with all of your injuries ..."  
  
"The vet said your hearing should be restored in six weeks," Butch said. "It's only a temporary thing since they operated on it."  
  
Meowth looked at his friends, his true friends, tears brimming from his eyes.  
  
"And until then, well ... we thought you might need a friend that's ... like yourself," Jessie said. "We saw how happy you were with Meowsie, and thought that ... well ..."  
  
"There was a family at the vet who's Meowth was having kittens, and since they couldn't afford to keep all of them," James reached behind his back, and placed a furry ball next to Meowth.  
  
"W-what is it?" Meowth asked, looking curiously at James.  
  
"It's for you, to ... you know, take care of," Jessie grinned.  
  
The tiny ball of fluff peaked up at Meowth, the tiny charm on it's forehead gleaming.  
  
"It's a girl," Cassidy said softly. "Maybe you could teach it to talk and walk, just like you."  
  
"My own kitten?" Meowth whispered as the ball of fluff tried to stand up, then collapsed with a frustrated mew. "Isn't she cute ... I mean, uh, I guess it will do ..."  
  
Everyone laughed as the kitten looked at them curiously. Meowth pushed the kitten closer to him with one paw, grinning at her.  
  
"She needs a name," Jessie said. "And it better not be Meowsie."  
  
Meowth paused, his face deep in thought.  
  
"Meowthia," He said finally. "Little Meowthia."  
  
Meowth looked at his friends, wishing he could think of some way to thank them for their love, their friendship. He knew the words would never reach his lips, the thought would never come ... the only bond he could make was with the silence around them, as they all watched little Meowthia curl up next to him, purring. And though he would never be human, his place would always be with the other humans. His best friends were there for him, always, and if he could count on nothing else in the world, he could count on that.  
  
Sighing happily, he tore himself away from watching Meowthia to look outside the window for a moment, where a tiny, female Meowth sat, watching him, a soft glow about her face. And then, quick as a wink, she vanished.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sleep well, my Meowsie," Persian said, curling up inside a box. Meowsie glanced up at the moon, sighing.  
  
"If only I were strong, Meowth, I would not have hurt you ... that could've been our kitten ..." She sighed, looking out towards the opening of the alley. Something gleaming in the light of the full moon caught her eye, and she walked towards it. She gasped at the sight of a beautiful collar, studded with diamonds, attached to a card she would never be able to read.  
  
Dear Meowsie,  
  
Thanks for a wonderful dinner. I'll never forget you. Jessie and James gave me a kitten, and each time I look at her, I can see you in her little eyes. I'll always love you.  
  
~Meowth.  
  
She placed the collar around her neck, knowing she would never let the Persian take it away from her, then glanced towards the moon.  
  
"Nice," She said, touching the collar softly with one paw. "Nice."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Note: I'm fully aware that there isn't a big area of woods next to Hollywood ... it just fit well with the story. Will there be a Part 4? Your opinion will decide ~ odile@danceart.net  
  
  



End file.
